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Wednesday, May 14, 2025

Notley kicks reporters out of press conference after criticizing Smith for limiting media questions

By
Rachel Parker
-
The Counter Signal

Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley had security drag at least two reporters out of her Monday afternoon press conference after days of criticizing Alberta Premier Danielle Smith for limiting reporters to one question per media availability. 

The Counter Signal editor in chief Keean Bexte was removed from Notley’s announcement after attending to question the Opposition leader about her candidates’ history of defund the police rhetoric. 

Bexte says he’s accredited by the Alberta Legislature and Notley is “lying” about basic facts to avoid answering questions with substance. 

“I am seriously worried what will happen to press freedom in this province if she regains power,” he told True North.

Rebel News reporter Alex Dhaliwal was also removed from the announcement. 

The Canadian media outlet responded to the incident, writing, “Notley accuses Premier Smith of dodging questions but she removes independent journalists to avoid being held to account.”

On Friday, Smith said she would be limiting reporters to one question to get through more during the provincial leadership race. Traditionally, reporters are allowed one question and one follow-up, though most journalists use the follow-up to ask about something unrelated. 

In response, Alberta NDP candidate Irfan Sabir said Smith can’t “run away” from Albertans’ questions about “the chaos and corruption in her government.” 

“This is a desperate move from a failed premier,” Sabir said in a statement. “Leaders take questions.” 

Notley also took to Twitter to criticize the UCP leader, saying Albertans deserve a leader that listens and takes and “ takes your questions.”

“Leaders with nothing to hide actually answer questions from the media,” she wrote on Twitter.

“Alberta, you deserve better than this.”

Ahead of Monday’s announcement, Notley bragged online that she would be taking questions from the media.

“I will take media questions … as I have done for 15 years as an MLA, nearly 9 years as Alberta NDP leader, four years as Premier and 4 years as Opposition leader,” she wrote. 

In response to the incident, the UCP war room Twitter account said Notley was kicking out the journalist whose questions she doesn’t want to answer. 

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been updated to correctly state that security, not police, removed reporters from the event.

Alberta NDP want to hire more police after candidates trashed police for years

By
Rachel Parker
-

The Alberta NDP are promising to hire more police officers if they form government following next month’s election even while their candidates have a lengthy history of espousing defund the police rhetoric.

In an announcement on Sunday, the Alberta NDP said it would restore municipal funding and hire 150 more police officers and pair them with the hiring of 150 social workers, mental health workers, addictions counsellors and more.

The announcement follows a spike in criminal activity across Alberta’s major cities.

“We need social supports,” NDP leader Rachel Notley wrote on Twitter. “We need to fight despair with hope. With real support. Not rhetoric.”

In response to the Opposition’s announcement, former police officer and Calgary-West United Conservative Party candidate Mike Ellis said Notley and the NDP have “zero credibility” when it comes to tackling crime and keeping Albertans safe.

“For years, the NDP have been advocating to defund the police, insulting law enforcement with hateful comments, and championing extreme leftist policies that would flood our streets with taxpayer-funded drugs,” Ellis said in a statement. “This is what the NDP truly supports.”

In October 2021, the Alberta NDP candidate for Edmonton-Ellerslie, Rod Loyola, said in a now-deleted tweet that having an Edmonton police badge “gives you the right to beat up citizens and not have to face criminal charges.” 

In June 2020, the party’s Calgary-Bow candidate Druh Farrell said she could not help but wonder about domestic abuse within police families after watching videos of nonwhite people assaulted by officers.

“There’s some sick rage there,” said Farrell. “I would bet it goes home with them and the outcome goes largely unreported.”

That tweet has also since been deleted. 

Meanwhile, the Edmonton-South candidate Rhiannon Hoyle said she supported freezing Edmonton police’s budget when running for city council. 

Likewise, when Lethbridge-East candidate Rob Miyashiro served as a city councillor, he voted to reduce the Lethbridge police’s operating budget by $1 million.

And at the height the police movement in 2020, when US cities were destroyed by rioters, candidate Janis Irwin shared #DefundThePolice in an Instagram story.

Those comments were uncovered amid a wave of horrific crime in Edmonton and Calgary. 

In just one day last week, Albertans witnessed a series of violent crimes. Calgary police discovered a corpse in a suitcase, meanwhile in Edmonton, police confirmed a man found dead in his apartment over the weekend had been shot to death in a homicide. That same day, a teenage boy was attacked in an Edmonton mall and remains in serious condition. 

In his visit to Edmonton last week, Poilievre attributed the crime wave to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s “costly coalition with the NDP” and their policies that allow the same repeat violent offenders loose on the street to “terrorize innocent people.”

“We’ve got to replace these crazy catch-and-release crime policies with a common sense criminal justice reform, and that’s exactly what a Pierre Poilievre government will do,” he said, calling for “jail not bail.”

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has already created public safety task forces in both Edmonton and Calgary, added more police to the streets, and instructed officials to hire an additional hire 100 more street-level police officers over the next 18 months.

Pertinently, the party is also addressing root causes of criminal activity, spending millions since 2019 to develop a wide-ranging recovery program unlike anything else in Canada.

That includes six massive recovery communities currently being built by the province. The first of those opened in north Red Deer earlier this year.  It’s nearly the size of a football field, has 75 beds, and the ability to treat up to 300 people per year.

Poilievre said the plan is working.

“It’s bringing down overdose rates, unlike in British Columbia, where the rates have gone up 300%,” he said last week. “It’s clear from the facts. The debate is over.”

Dr. Theresa Tam lists climate change and capitalism as drivers of negative health

By
Andrew Kozak
-

Chief Public Health Officer of Canada (CPHO) Dr. Theresa Tam has listed climate change among other social issues such as white supremacy, capitalism, colonialism and racism as “systemic drivers of negative health.”

In its latest report titled, “What We Heard: Perspectives on Climate Change and Public Health Canada,” the government suggests that these issues must be addressed in order to improve public health.

The report is based on 21 one-on-one interviews with key public health “experts” across Canada with the aim of understanding the health impacts of climate change on Canadians.

“We heard that there is a central role for public health systems in climate change adaptation,” writes the report. “We also heard that there is an urgent need to strengthen public health systems’ strategies to actively engage in decolonizing action, and embrace other systems of knowledge regarding human well-being and planetary health.”

The fears from interviewed “experts” include ignoring voices that need to be heard to address the climate crisis and polarization rather than a united effort to mitigate and adapt to the health impacts of climate change.

The “experts” claimed to have solutions to these fears, including “embracing an intersectoral approach to the climate challenge,” and “greater public health leadership centring on decolonization, justice, and equity.”

The “experts” listed several “thematic recommendations” including, “decolonizing public health and embracing diverse expertise in public health.”

In a report released earlier this year from Lakehead University, 80% of Canadians aged 16-25 said climate change impacts their overall mental health. 

Four-in-ten respondents said their daily life is negatively impacted by feelings about climate change, and that climate change makes them hesitant about having children.

The top leading causes of death in Canada are cancer, heart disease and strokes. 

Nearly 86% of people surveyed in Canada said they were concerned about the state of the healthcare system in Canada according to a Leger poll published earlier this year. The number jumped to 94% for those in the Atlantic provinces.

A SecondStreet.org study from January has found that nearly 3.2 million people are on waitlists across the provincial and territorial healthcare systems.

Socialism’s harmful impacts on women (feat. Ana Rizo)

By
Elie Cantin-Nantel
-

Socialist ideology has gained popularity amongst young people in North America, but do young Canadians truly understand what socialism is?

True North’s Elie Cantin-Nantel spoke with Ladies of Liberty Alliance (LOLA) Canadian chapter president Ana Rizo about the truth of socialism and how it harms women. Rizo is a survivor of socialism, having fled Venezuela to come to Canada at the age of 23.

Through LOLA, she and other libertarian women help promote concepts of individual liberty and free markets.

CBC “pausing” Twitter use after being labeled as “Government-funded Media”

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

The official Twitter account of the CBC said it will be “pausing” its activity on Twitter after the platform labeled it a “government-funded media” outlet and several of the state broadcaster’s journalists are also following suit. 

At least two journalists with the CBC have also said they will be departing from Twitter as a result of their employer’s decision. 

Liberal politicians and legacy media journalists were outraged by Twitter’s use of the label, arguing that it was unfair and that the CBC was independent despite receiving $1.2 billion in taxpayer funding annually via the federal government. 

Hamilton Spectator journalist Grant LaFleche called the move an “attempt to discredit legit journalism.

Meanwhile, National Observer columnist Sandy Garossino alleged the “real problem” were companies like Postmedia and Twitter. 

On Monday morning, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau waded into the debate as well, accusing his opponent, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, of attacking “independent media organizations” a week after he called on Twitter to apply the label.  

“I think it says a lot about the Conservative Party of Canada. They’re choosing to constantly attack independent media organizations, journalists who are working hard to keep Canadians informed and support our democracy,” said Trudeau. 

Liberal Minister of Canadian Heritage Pablo Rodriguez and Liberal MP Mark Gerretsen also denounced Twitter’s use of the label. 

Trudeau runs to defense of “independent” CBC

By
Cosmin Dzsurdzsa
-

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has come to the defense of the CBC after Twitter labeled the public broadcaster “government-funded media.” 

On Monday, Trudeau accused Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre of attacking “independent media organizations.” The state broadcaster receives over $1.2 billion in taxpayer funding from the federal government. 

“When they’re trying to attack a foundational Canadian institution, the fact that he has to run to American billionaires for support to attack Canadians says a lot about Mr. Poilievre and his values,” claimed Trudeau. 

“I think it says a lot about the Conservative Party of Canada. They’re choosing to constantly attack independent media organizations, journalists who are working hard to keep Canadians informed and support our democracy.”

Trudeau was referencing an open letter written by Poilievre, in which the Conservative leader asked the social media company to apply the label to the outlet. 

In response to the label, CBC has denied the characterization, claiming that it is independent of government influence. 

“Twitter’s own policy defines government-funded media as cases where the government “may have varying degrees of government involvement over editorial content,” which is clearly not the case with CBC/Radio-Canada,” wrote the CBC in a series of tweets. 

“CBC/Radio-Canada is publicly funded through a parliamentary appropriation that is voted upon by all Members of Parliament. Its editorial independence is protected in law in the Broadcasting Act, as we said in our statement from last week.”

Twitter CEO Elon Musk has applied the government-funded label to a number of media outlets including NPR most recently. 

The Daily Brief | Twitter adds “Government-funded media” label to CBC

By
Rachel Parker
-

After weeks of users asking, Twitter finally adds a “government-funded media” label to CBC’s main account.

Katie Telford, the Prime Minister’s Chief of Staff, testified before a parliamentary committee on foreign interference in Canada’s elections for over two hours and we don’t know any more about what really happened.

A raid in Richmond, B.C. on Friday resulted in three men being arrested with 22 kilos of the deadly drug fentanyl before they were released onto the streets again.

And lastly, after a local business put up a sign joking about Bud Light’s controversial partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, some local residents are outraged.

Tune into The Daily Brief with Rachel Emmanuel and Andrew Lawton!

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Public servants to strike this week if no deal reached Tuesday

By
Andrew Kozak
-

The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), the union representing over 150,000 federal workers, is calling a strike on Wednesday morning if no deal is reached with the government by Tuesday at 9 pm ET.

PSAC represents roughly 35,000 workers at the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and 120,000 employees in a variety of departments, including tradespeople, teachers, firefighters, Employment Insurance and Immigration workers.

National PSAC President Chris Aylward said Monday morning that the union and the federal government have made progress over the last few weeks but still have major disagreements that have not been addressed such as wages and remote work.

“Our members are frustrated,” said Aylward. “That while negotiations drag on, they continue to fall behind.”

“We’re setting a clock on this round of bargaining,” said Aylward. “If there is no deal reached by 9 pm ET tomorrow April 18, I am authorizing a national general strike beginning at 12:01 am on Wednesday, April 19.”

After members of PSAC voted overwhelmingly in favour of striking earlier this month, a spokesperson for the CRA told Global News that there is no plan to extend the deadline for Canadians who still need to file their taxes.

If a strike occurs, Canadians can expect serious delays and longer wait times in the last weeks before the deadline, especially those filed on paper.

The Union of Taxation Employees requested a 14-month backdated pay raise of 4.5%, a 2-month backdated pay raise of 8%, a future pay raise of 8% and a one-time pay increase of 9%, adding up to nearly 30% in raises.

Twitter labels CBC’s account “Government-funded Media”

By
Andrew Lawton
-

Twitter has identified the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s primary Twitter account as “Government-funded Media.”

The label was applied to the @CBC account Sunday afternoon around the same time it also appeared on the accounts of Australia’s and New Zealand’s public broadcasters, ABC News and RNZ.

The tag is different from the “state-affiliated media” designation applied to outlets such as Russia Today and Iran’s Press TV.

Earlier this month, Twitter put the government-funded media label on several BBC accounts in the United Kingdom as well as PBS and NPR in the United States. PBS and NPR opted to quit Twitter in retaliation.

On Tuesday, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre sent a letter to Twitter calling on the tech giant to identify CBC as a government-funded media company.

“Government-funded media is defined as outlets where the government provides some or all of the outlet’s funding and may have varying degrees of government involvement over editorial content,” Poilievre wrote. “As a result, and in the interest of transparency, I believe that Twitter should apply the Government-funded Media label to the CBC’s various news-related accounts, including @CBC, @CBCNews, and @CBCAlerts.

In response to Poilievre’s letter, a CBC spokesperson said it was “clearly not the case” that the government has involvement over editorial content.

“As every Canadian knows, CBC/Radio-Canada is publicly funded. Its editorial independence is protected in law in the Broadcasting Act,” the CBC spokesperson told CBC.

CBC’s affiliated accounts, such as @CBCPolitics and @CBCNews, did not have the government-funded media label displayed as of Sunday evening, though it’s not clear if this will change.

The label was also not visible on the Twitter account for CBC’s French language arm, Radio-Canada.

A message to Twitter’s media relations inbox received a poop emoji in reply, as is the new convention.

Feds’ caught attempting to suppress article on refugee policy (ft. Lorne Gunter)

By
Andrew Lawton
-

Edmonton Sun columnist Lorne Gunter recently revealed he was the target of a Trudeau government censorship attempt back in 2021, after exposing a proposed update to Canada’s refugee policy. Gunter joined True North’s Andrew Lawton to discuss the implications of this censorship attempt, the erosion of free speech, and what the future of journalism and media could look like if Bill C-11 is passed.

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