Beyond Borders: News Research in Canada

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Beyond Borders News Research in Canada

• Joan Sweeney Marsh
• Toronto Star Newspaper

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Agenda

• Canada 101 or The Beginners Guide to Canada
• Access to Information An overview of the laws
  and the available sources of information
• The Canadian News Industry and where to find news
  content
• Looking for John Doe or Company X in Canada

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Canada 101 Cool Nation

• In 2003, The Economist magazine declares Canada,
  Cool. Why?
• Same sex marriages
• Move to decriminalize marijuana
• Tolerance for immigrants and proud of cultural
  diversity
• Pacifists (except when it comes to our national
  past-time, hockey, where anything goes)
• Deficits left far behind and public debt slashed

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Government and more government

• Constitutional Monarchy 10 provinces 3
  territories and one powerful Federal Government
• Municipalities are the creations of the
  provincial government
• Two official languages to complicate research
  even further

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Access to Information

• Canada still pretty much holds to the British
  tradition of limited access to government
  information.
• Federal Access to Information Act
  http//www.infocom.gc.ca/acts/default-e.asp
• Provincial governments have their own Privacy and
  Access to Information Acts

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Freedom of Information Requests

• For any information covered under the Access to
  Information legislations at the provincial or
  federal level you must submit an FOI (municipal
  and provincial) or ATIA (federal).
• Access to Information request form for Federal
  Information http//www.tbs-sct.gc.ca/gos-sog/form
  s/Acc-pri/350-57_e.html
• Takes time but inexpensive (average price
  13.53)

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Federal Government Information you can easily get
your hands on

• Government of Canada Search Page
• http//search-recherche.gc.ca/cgi-bin/query?ms
  scanada/en/simple.html
•  Publications by Department/Agency
• http//www.canada.gc.ca/publications/publi_e.html
  
•  Subject Index to Government info
• http//www.canada.gc.ca/azind/azindex_e.html

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More Federal Government info . . .

• Statistics Canada Web Site Lots of free stuff
• http//www.statcan.ca/english/search/adv.htm
• CANSIM good for historical data.
• Census data also available at this site.
• Depository Service Some fee based
• http//dsp-psd.pwgsc.gc.ca/index-e.html
• Magazine Canada Social Trends (Infomart Nexis
  Dialog)

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The Canadian News Industry -Broadcasters

• Public and Private Broadcasters
• Public Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The
  CBC (Infomart)
• Private Two biggest broadcasters are CTV
  (Infomart Factiva and Lexis) and Canwest
  (Infomart)

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Canadian News Industry Newspaper Chains

• Torstar (Toronto Star and south-central Ontario
  papers) Factiva, Lexis, Infomart, Cedrom
• Bell Globemedia (Globe and Mail) Exclusively with
  Factiva
• Canwest (National Post and many daily metro
  papers and community papers) Infomart has them
  all Factiva has a few (including NP) Lexis has
  some

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Newspaper Chains cont . . .

• Quebecor (The Sun Chain) Infomart Lexis
• Hollinger (13 Canadian small-market dailies
  trade magazines and some community papers)
  Infomart

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Independent News Sources

• Many smaller newspapers and French language
  newspapers are found exclusively on Cedroms
  Newscan product. (Particularly strong for Quebec
  and eastern Canada.)

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Due Diligence or Looking for John Doe or Company
X in Canada

• See handout on how to perform lien searches,
  bankruptcy searches, land title searches, court
  documents, corporate searches and more.