It was held that judges have a common law discretionary authority to impose publication bans on information revealed in a criminal trial.

During their trial the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation produced a dramatic mini-series, based on another sexual abuse scandal at Mount Cashel Orphanage, named The Boys of St. Vincent, and it was scheduled to be broadcast nationwide in the first week of December, 1992.

The majority of the Court held that the publication ban was in violation of the freedom of expression under section 2(b) of the Charter.

…Smith J stated in a 2014 judgment that:[2] The Supreme Court of Canada has closely guarded the open court concept over the years and in the last 20 years has narrowed the test for the use of discretionary orders to ban the publication of evidence in Dagenais v. Canadian Broadcasting Corp, and R v Mentuck, known as the "Dagenais-Mentuck" test.

The "Dagenais-Mentuck" test requires the party opposing media access to demonstrate that the order (for the ban) is necessary to prevent a serious risk to the proper administration of justice and that the salutary effects of the order sought outweigh the deleterious effects on the rights and interests of the parties and public.