International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists, defending journalists means defending democracy

Journalism is essential to democracy. When journalists are threatened, silenced, jailed, or killed, the public’s right to know is under attack.

November 2 marks the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes Against Journalists and serves as a strong reminder that those responsible must be held accountable.

In just one week, the International Federation of Journalists reported police attacks on reporters in the Philippines, two journalists killed in separate shootings in Bangladesh and the Philippines, legal threats against exiled media in Myanmar, and at least 30 journalists detained during protests in India.

Canada is not immune to threats to press freedom, either.

Recently, journalists covering the 2025 CANSEC protest faced police harassment and arrests, a sweeping ban on publishing facts in Quebec related to a criminal case involving a far-right militia, and Alberta’s Ministry of Education and Childcare barred CityNews Calgary from its media conferences.

Not to mention the instances where political parties excluded journalists from democratic events and when the Ontario government refused to comply with binding orders to release records requested by journalists.

Photojournalist Amber Bracken and The Narwhal’s lawsuit against the RCMP, following her 2021 arrest, also underscores the ongoing fight to report without police interference.

These barriers come as Canadian journalism faces mounting financial pressure. Digital giants resist efforts to make them contribute fairly to Canada’s media and cultural sectors, while Canadian news organizations pursue lawsuits over AI companies’ alleged unauthorized use of their journalism.

Since 2023, Unifor has sadly lost more than 1,000 media members. Those losses create news deserts across Canada, and weaken newsrooms’ ability to cover communities, investigate wrongdoing, and hold the powerful accountable.

Press freedom requires both the ability to report without intimidation and the resources to do the work.

Unifor advocates for policies that sustain journalism, support media workers, and require digital platforms to compensate news organizations. Through our Media Action Plan, the Fact Check Here campaign encourages Canadians to seek reliable reporting from legitimate news sources. 

Our union also supports the Canadian Press Freedom Tracker, which documents violations and helps expose patterns that demand action.

We cannot take journalism, or our democracy, for granted. 

Support Canadian news outlets, defend journalists’ right to report, and demand accountability for crimes against them.