There is a price attached to annoying and delaying the courts. In Ken Peters' case, its a $31,000 fine for civil contempt of court.

Here's the CP story carried on CTV.ca:

Canadian Press

HAMILTON — A Hamilton Spectator reporter was fined $31,000 on Tuesday for refusing to identify a confidential source in a case viewed as a setback for hard-earned press freedoms.

Superior Court Justice David Crane, who found Spectator reporter Ken Peters in contempt of court last week, ordered him to pay the fine to cover lawyers' costs during the delay his refusal to reveal a source caused in a civil case.

The Spectator intends to appeal but has said it is willing to pay the fine on Peters' behalf.

Courts do not often find journalists in contempt and it's virtually unheard of in Canada for reporters to get jail time for refusing to reveal their sources.

Peters and the Canadian Association of Newspaper Editors say the hefty fine will have a chilling effect on many journalists who are deeply committed to protecting those who give them sensitive information.

$31K would be roughly six months pay for a senior reporter at a paper the Spec's size. At some smaller papers or for a freelancer, it might well be a year's salary.

At that fine level, jail really becomes the only option if the employer/client isn't willing to pay the price for upholding promise of confidentiality that is often at the heart of so much important public-service journalism.

This decision must be appealed. Hopefully the Ontario Court of Appeal will straighten out some of Justice David Crane's tortuous logic that he used in finding Peters in contempt.

I don't have time this evening for a full list of my previous posts on the Peters case, so here's a google-search link to them.