HALIFAX – A Nova Scotia judge says he’s discovered that court staff are mistakenly imposing confidentiality orders on some files related to the province’s new cyberbullying law.
Judge Gerald Moir of the province’s Supreme Court called for a court hearing Thursday when he learned court staff told a Halifax media outlet it could not look at three protection orders issued under the Cyber-safety Act because those documents are confidential.
Moir says it is his understanding that under the act, publication bans on protection orders would only apply if the applicant or respondent was a minor or if a ban was required to ensure the safety of one of the parties.
The judge says he was inclined to release two of the three documents because only one was subject to an interim publication ban on the names in the order.
But Moir decided instead to extend the ban to the other two protection orders on the grounds that court staff may have created the mistaken impression that the documents are confidential.
Moir says the parties involved in the protection orders would be given the opportunity to apply for confidentiality orders until another court hearing is held on Jan. 19.
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