For the first time at an Alberta criminal trial, television cameras will be allowed into the courtroom on Thursday to record the long-awaited decision in the Travis Vader murder trial.

Court of Queen's Bench Justice Denny Thomas on Tuesday ruled he will allow cameras into the court, after hearing submissions from lawyers representing a consortium of media outlets — including the CBC, Global, CTV, The Canadian Press and Postmedia — that argued for the access.

The Crown in the case argued against allowing cameras.

Vader is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the July 2010 deaths of seniors Lyle and Marie McCann. After a six-month trial, Thomas is scheduled to hand down his decision in the case on Thursday morning.

• ■Read the full history of cameras in Canadian courts

Media lawyers requested camera access solely for the delivery of the judge's ruling. Proponents for camera access have argued that media outlets already use Twitter to transmit every trial development, and occasionally verbatim testimony, and argued that the presence of cameras is not unreasonable.

Those who oppose camera access often note that their presence could turn trials into spectacles, with lawyers grandstanding for the television or an internet audience. It has also been noted that witnesses could be more reluctant to come forward.

Cameras have never been allowed in an Alberta courtroom for a criminal trial proceeding, though they are not prohibited by law.

The debate about cameras in the courtroom has bounced around Canadian courts for decades. Cameras are frequently present at inquiries and hearings. And the Supreme Court of Canada has broadcast most of its proceedings by CPAC, the Cable Public Affairs Channel, since the 1990s. 

But the televising of criminal trials has been far more contentious, and applications are made on a case-by-case basis. Cameras have generally not been allowed.

Part of the distinction revolves around witnesses. Unlike trials, there are no witnesses in appeal courts, just lawyers arguing their points. That reality has made trial judges far less accepting of cameras in their courtrooms.