Op-Ed: Toronto Mayor Rob Ford boycotts one of city's major news sources

Toronto - In Canada we have the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to ensure that basic freedoms are allowed for everyone. One of those basic freedoms is the freedom of the press and other media of communication.

That freedom is being denied to one newspaper by the mayor of Toronto. During the election campaign the Toronto Star ran a story about Rob Ford's behaviour as a football coach. The story was not a positive piece but it was legal. Ford filed a notice of libel but never followed up on the matter and the suit has lapsed. What has not lapsed is a "Ford Freeze." The Ford Freeze is an order that no official notices or pronouncements be provided to the Toronto Star. He publicly stated to Daniel Dale, a reporter, “I don’t talk to the Star till you guys apologize. You guys (are) liars.” It's not the first time that the Ford administration has trashed the publication. During the week after the Pride Parade Ford's brother Doug appeared on a local radio show calling the Toronto Star a socialist media source. The Toronto Star is one of the largest newspapers in the city of Toronto. To be denied information from the city's government is more than a slap in the face, it borders on being against the law. In Canada we value freedom of the press. Globally when freedom of the press is denied crimes against the people from governments prevail. While Ford's office does provide information about the city's events and announcements to other media sources, including to this journalist, denying one source that information is a wrong that must be addressed. Members of the press don't always get along. At times we diss one another but when a wrong such as the one from the Ford Administration comes along we band together. To deny one of us information is against Canada's basic rights. Basic rights are something that journalists hold dear. It's our calling, if you want to get down to brass tacks.