Tips

Tips are the information that leads to a story. If it's true and newsworthy, we'll look into it.

About source protection

We take source protection very seriously. When we use what are called ‘on background’ sources — sources that are confidential to us — we have an ethical obligation to minimize the risk of harm to them. Practically, this looks like restricting access to the information they provide to a small group of relevant editors and reporters, and declining to share additional information that could identify the source.

We will only divulge a confidential source’s identity when ordered to by a court. And even if ordered to disclose a source, at that point, theoretically, it’s up to the individual journalists whether they’re willing to go to jail to protect their sources. Because we’re professional media with a code of ethics, we’re more likely to be able to defend ourselves under the Journalistic Sources Protection Act, Canada’s national ‘shield law,’ and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

What we can promise, generally, is that we will always reject a request to provide information that could identify a confidential source; neither the AMS nor the university has the ability to compel us to provide information to them—we’re an independent organization. If the police ask, they are directed to seek a court order, which we may decide to challenge.

Sharing confidential inforamtion with journalists is one of the ways history is made. If you’re willing to talk, we’re always ready to listen. If you have questions about source protection, we encourage you to contact our editors.

Resources on journalist-source relationships in Canada

• Canadian Association of Journalists Ethics Guidelines
• Canadian Association of Journalists Protection of sources whitepaper
• R v. Vice (a Supreme Court of Canada decision)
• Centre for Free Expression primer on the Journalistic Sources Protection Act

How to get in touch

Want to let us know about something? We offer a number of ways to contact our journalists.

Form

You're welcome to use this form to send us tips about anything.

Email

Our editors are always available by email. Whistleblowers are free to send us tips with complete anonymity, but keep in mind that it may be necessary to discuss certain details with you before we go ahead with a story. Just because somebody said something happened usually isn't good enough for us to be able to publish it — we'll need more evidence.

Our correspondence is strictly confidential between you and the only the relevant members of our team.

We read everything that comes across our desks. Depending on the volume of inquiries, we may take some time to reply, or we might not at all.

Deliver hardcopies directly

The newsroom is located in room 2208 on the second floor of the AMS Nest, and only editors have keycard access to it. For years, people have shared tips with us by sliding papers under our door.