CAJ says Harper government is front-runner in Code of Silence award

The Canadian Association of Journalists has announced the nominees for its 2009 Code of Silence Award and Prime Minister Stephen Harper is the front-runner.

Journalists from across Canada nominated Harper and his government for "muzzling civil servants and cabinet ministers, blackballing reporters who pose tough questions and building a huge spin machine designed to staunch the flow of information." The Harper government was "the hands-down winner" in 2008, too.

Other nominees include:

• Fort Erie's Economic Development and Tourism Corporation
• Canada's human rights commissions, federal and provincial
• The RCMP, its partner organization the Canadian Police Research Centre and police forces across Canada
• The Yukon government
• Human Resources and Skills Development Canada
• Alberta's Ministry of Children and Youth Services
• The Ontario government
• The Canadian Food Inspection Agency

The 2009 Code of Silence Award will be handed out at the CAJ's gala award ceremony Saturday, May 23 in Vancouver.