Transcripts of court proceedings the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) was hoping to keep secret at the trial of a Surrey couple accused of plotting to bomb the B.C. legislature are expected to be released this week.
On Monday, despite objections from CSIS and the federal Crown, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Catherine Bruce ordered the release of the transcripts from in-camera proceedings after several media outlets fought an application that they be sealed.
Bruce said while she recognized the importance of an open court, she also acknowledged the risk of exposing someone as a CSIS source.
"This is not a case where disclosure could just embarrass someone," she said. "Disclosure could put their life in peril."
She said releasing redacted transcripts of the hearing and the ruling would serve both the media and CSIS.
The exact substance of the hearing is unclear, but media lawyer Dan Burnett said the judge indicated she needs to edit out information to protect a "human" source.
John Nuttall and Amanda Korody were found guilty last summer in the 2013 plot to plant bombs in Victoria on Canada Day, but no conviction will be entered until Bruce decides whether the couple was entrapped by police.
- with files from CBC