Attorney general keeps secret criminal court files of Brampton courthouse shooter

The Ministry of the Attorney General is keeping secret the criminal court files of the Brampton courthouse gunman who wounded a Peel Region police officer, the Star reports.
Even the reason for withholding the files is being kept secret. On Monday, the Star requested all the public criminal information filed with the Ontario Court of Justice at the A. Grenville and William Davis Courthouse for Charnjit Bassi.
Bassi, 45, entered the courthouse on Friday and shot a Peel officer in charge of security, according to preliminary information from the Special Investigations Unit.
Bassi was fatally shot by an officer. Paul Schabas, a media lawyer and partner at Blakes law firm, called the ministry’s move blocking public access to court records “outrageous”.
“In the absence of a valid statutory restriction (which they should tell you about) or a court order, you have a constitutional right to see court documents and the attorney general has no legal authority to withhold them from you,” Schabas said in an email.
“The refusal to let you see court documents flies in the face of the Charter and repeated statements by the Supreme Court.” Schabas said the Supreme Court of Canada has repeatedly made “crystal clear” that the public has a right to access court records.
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