40 Years

Canadian Journalists
for Free Expression

Defending courageous reporting

40 Years

Canadian Journalists
for Free Expression

Defending courageous reporting

About Us

Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) defends free expression and those with the courage to seek and report the truth. CJFE has deep roots in journalism. For more than 40 years, we have championed free media and the role it plays in creating a just and equitable society. Our organization supports and upholds the rights of all global citizens to hold leaders to account, to ask hard questions, and to use their voices to speak the truth.

CJFE is the only organization in Canada advocating for the rights and freedoms of the media, both abroad and in Canada.

The Truth Dies in Darkness

A Call For Free Press

Canadian Journalists for Free Expression calls on the Canadian government to condemn the killing and intimidating of journalists who are covering the conflict in Gaza, Israel, Lebanon and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. CJFE demands that Israel allow journalists to do their jobs without fear of death, detention or harassment.

Since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 and Israel declared war on Hamas, more journalists have been killed than in any conflict since the Committee to Protect Journalists began to keep records. Its last tally, from December 11, reports that 63 journalists and media workers are confirmed dead: 56 Palestinian and 3 Lebanese journalists are among the 18,000 killed by the IDF. Four Israeli journalists were among the 1200 killed during the Hamas massacre on October 7.

International groups monitoring the media have investigated what they believe to be targeted attacks on journalists. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty international concluded that the Israeli military fired artillery shells toward the border with Lebanon that killed Reuters journalist Issam Abdallah and wounded six others. HRW said the “evidence indicates that the Israeli military knew or should have known that the group of people they were firing on were civilians”, making it an apparent deliberate attack on civilians, thus a “war crime”.

The Committee to Protect Journalists reports that at least 19 journalists have been arrested by Israeli authorities since October 7, while others have been harrassed and doxxed, both Jewish and Arab Israeli citizens. Israeli government social media has accused reporters of being collaborators with Hamas, and hence valid targets. This must stop.

CJFE calls for the release of jailed journalists and for both Hamas and the IDF to allow journalists to do their jobs. It calls for full investigations into the deaths of reporters so that those responsible for these killings are not granted impunity.

Our Story

Canadian Journalists for Free Expression (CJFE) was founded in 1981, inspired to action after the mass killings and kidnapping of Latin American journalists in the late 1970s. A non-profit, non-governmental registered charity, CJFE is a volunteer-driven organization that has devoted itself to defending and protecting freedom of expression. Based in Toronto, CJFE is governed by a group of volunteers. Together, these advocates work with governments and industry partners to create meaningful change that preserves the fundamental rights of freedom of expression, freedom of the press, and access to information for all citizens.

Timeline

Collaboration

CJFE is a founding member of both the world-leading Journalists in Distress program and of the International Free Expression eXchange (IFEX). CJFE works with organizations and individuals around the world to protect reporters and to preserve the right to free expression for all. We are a founding member of IFEX, a global network of more than 119 independent non-governmental organizations that work at a local, national, regional and international level to defend and promote freedom of expression as a human right.

We are a member of a network of 24 International organizations led by IFEX to:

  1. Provide assistance to journalists and media workers whose lives or careers threatened because of their work
  2. Share information, coordinate joint efforts to avoid duplication

Sponsors and Partners

Google News InitiativeGoogle News Initiative
CBC | Radio-CanadaCBC | Radio-Canada
TD BankTD Bank
CWA CanadaCWA Canada
Margaret AtwoodMargaret Atwood
Michael de AdderMichael de Adder
APAP
CJFE-sponsor-500×500-CEMACJFE-sponsor-500×500-CEMA-bw
CFWIJCFWIJ
CTV NewsCTV News
CisionCision
Green LivingGreen Living
The Globe and MailThe Globe and Mail
ifexifex
Massey CollegeMassey College
Media ProfileMedia Profile
ReutersReuters
Stockwoods BarristersStockwoods Barristers
Toronto StarToronto Star
UniforUnifor
WeirFoulds LLPWeirFoulds LLP

X (formerly Twitter)

Calling journalists in Canada! Apply for Massey Fellowship 2024/25 with @CJFE. Offering funding and 8 months at @MasseyCollege for journalists in exile. Refine professional skills and expand your network.

Apply by March 31 at http://cjfe.org/journalist-resources/

Nominated for an Academy Award, "20 days in Mariupol," is a searing documentary about the last team of AP journalists who stayed to record the devastating invasion in Ukraine.

The journalists killed in Gaza—& what they tried to show the world, @ellen_fra @arturgalocha @joesnell03, @washingtonpost

A powerful piece showing Gaza through the lens of the last photos & videos of 7 of the 85 journalists killed in the #Israel-#Gaza war

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X (formerly Twitter)

Calling journalists in Canada! Apply for Massey Fellowship 2024/25 with @CJFE. Offering funding and 8 months at @MasseyCollege for journalists in exile. Refine professional skills and expand your network.

Apply by March 31 at http://cjfe.org/journalist-resources/

Nominated for an Academy Award, "20 days in Mariupol," is a searing documentary about the last team of AP journalists who stayed to record the devastating invasion in Ukraine.

The journalists killed in Gaza—& what they tried to show the world, @ellen_fra @arturgalocha @joesnell03, @washingtonpost

A powerful piece showing Gaza through the lens of the last photos & videos of 7 of the 85 journalists killed in the #Israel-#Gaza war

Load More...