Addressing Improper Use of Disclosed Materials
In recent years, there have been some troubling instances of disclosed materials being misused.
Misuse of disclosure information includes use of these materials to facilitate criminal activity, such as
harassment and intimidation of witnesses. It also includes situations where sensitive private information about individuals, including victims of crime and third parties, is revealed.
Disclosure materials can include information of considerable sensitivity, affecting both the interests of the public in fighting crime and the
privacy interests of individuals, including victims and third parties. While criminal justice in Canada is a public process, this does not mean that all the underlying documentation is to be freely distributed in public. In particular, disclosure materials are not appropriately distributed in the public domain. As the Martin Report stated, “it is inappropriate for any counsel to give disclosure information to the public. Counsel would not be acting responsibly as an officer of the court if he or she did so.”
[4] Further,
while it is the accused person's constitutional right to receive disclosure materials in order to make full answer and defence, this does not mean that these materials may be dealt with in an unrestricted manner as between counsel and the accused. The Martin Report makes recommendations on restrictions that should apply to the handling of the materials in this regard, stating, in part, that
“defence counsel should maintain custody or control over disclosure materials, so that copies of these materials are not improperly disseminated” (p. 179).
http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/cons/ref/7.html