The Supreme Court of Canada will hear the Globe and Mail's appeal of a lower court's ruling that reporter Daniel LeBlanc, seen in 2008, must reveal a confidential source he used in breaking the story on the federal sponsorship scandal. (Graham Hughes/Canadian Press)Canada's top court is reviewing a controversial ruling that could force a Globe and Mail reporter to reveal key confidential sources in the federal sponsorship scandal.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court of Canada will hear the newspaper's appeal of a lower court ruling requiring journalist Daniel Leblanc to release the identity of people who assisted him in exposing fraud in the sponsorship program five years ago, including a source code-named Ma Chouette.

The appeal contests a Quebec Superior Court ruling that authorized lawyers for advertising company Le Groupe Polygone Éditeurs Inc. to question Leblanc under oath about Ma Chouette.

The anonymous source provided Leblanc with details that led to his award-winning reporting on the so-called adscam.

Leblanc has said he would rather go to jail than reveal the source's identity.

The Quebec Superior Court also granted Polygone lawyers the right to question more than 20 other witnesses — mostly government employees — about whether they assisted Leblanc in his investigation.

Polygone wants to question Leblanc and certain government employees in connection with a federal government lawsuit brought against the Montreal-based ad company.

Polygone lawyers want to identify Leblanc's source and determine whether it is a civil servant, to support their contention the federal government was aware of sponsorship fraud in the 1990s. If this were the case, the lawsuit's statute of limitations could be questioned.

Ottawa filed a $35-million lawsuit against Polygone to recuperate sponsorship program funds paid to the firm.

Public's right to information at play

The stakes are high in Leblanc's case and will impact Canadians' right to information, said Dennis Trudeau, vice-president of Reporters Without Borders.

'If it hadn't been for [Leblanc] and his sources, we may never have known what happened in the sponsorship scandal.'— Dennis Trudeau, Canadian vice-president, Reporters without Borders

If journalists cannot protect their sources, potential whistleblowers may be reluctant to come forward.

"If it hadn't been for [Leblanc] and his sources, we may never have known what happened in the sponsorship scandal," Trudeau said from Montreal. "It's not just for journalists that things are at stake, but for the public and citizens as well. [They have] the right to have information."

Leblanc's case prompted Reporters without Borders to downgrade Canada's annual ranking on freedom of the press, to 19th from 13th.

The Canadian Association of Civil Liberties, Quebec's Federation of Journalists and several media outlets have asked for standing at the appeal.

Polygone is one of several ad companies accused of over billing the government through the program, which was created after the 1995 Quebec sovereignty referendum.

The sponsorship program, designed to enhance the federal government's profile, funnelled millions of tax dollars to Liberal Party-friendly advertising firms for little or no work.

The adscam was instrumental in virtually wiping out the Liberal Party in Quebec, driving the Grits out of power in the 2006 federal election.