“There’s been much ado about the Liberal government’s recently announced $595-million package to support Canadian media. What do you think of it?”
Cory Hann Conservative strategist “A healthy democracy relies on an independent press, free of political influence. It should never be up to any government to determine which media outlets receive government support and which media outlets do not. Justin Trudeau is compromising both the independence of the media and the integrity of our electoral process […]
Journalism community divided over feds’ $600-million media fund, opposition MPs say it doesn’t solve the problem of falling ad revenues
The government’s recent and controversial announcement of the $600-million funding package has fuelled a heated debate in news media circles, but one thing is clear: the devil’s in the details, and right now, there are few. While the journalism community is still grappling with whether there should be funding for journalism at all, and if […]
House should set up permanent Commons committee on digital issues, says NDP MP Angus, after unprecedented international summit
NDP MP Charlie Angus says the House should set up a new and permanent standing committee to tackle digital issues, including online privacy and regulation, in light of growing global concern over how tech giants like Facebook protect personal data and disseminate information online. Mr. Angus (Timmins-James Bay, Ont.) raised the idea during an unprecedented […]
More than 50 years later, PPS constable honours family’s place in Canadian history
Standing in front of the portrait of former prime minister Robert Borden in the House of Commons foyer, Parliamentary Protective Service Const. Janet Asselin was photographed in the same spot her father and uncle were pictured as the Pearson-era MPs celebrated Canada’s new flag in 1965. ‘Standing here at the same place my father and […]
Security and Intelligence Committee members should be more actively monitored in wake of Clement scandal: Green Party leader
A national security expert and Green Party Leader Elizabeth May say that in the wake of former Conservative MP Tony Clement’s sexting scandal, members of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, of which he was a member, should submit to having their online activity, including their private social media exchanges such as direct […]
Let’s take a critical look at the press
Re: “Support for press freedom about more than words,” (The Hill Times, Nov. 14, p. 8). Good editorial, but it falls short on introspection. It should not be a secret that the press worldwide is highly polarized. Just take CNN and Fox as examples—that coverage goes well beyond reporting facts. It includes partisan if not outright […]
More reporters ought to cover the public service
News of cuts to the iPolitics newsroom emerged earlier this month. The online political news operation saw five people laid off after Torstar Corp. bought it in October. Those laid off included Kathryn May, who covered the public service. Ms. May has for years diligently and intelligently focused her reporting on the federal public service. […]
Are Canada’s newsrooms ready to tackle fake news, cyber threats, ‘foreign adversaries’ ahead of 2019 election?
Hill newsrooms are still in the early stages of contending with issues around potential interference during the 2019 election, but as the vote draws closer, a few have signalled they intend to have a game plan to anticipate the spread of misinformation. In a report last year about cyber threats to the democratic process, the […]
“The Conservative Party reportedly plans to target media in the lead up to 2019. What do you make of this strategy?”
Cameron Ahmad Liberal strategist “Andrew Scheer seems committed to reliving the days of pre-election 2015, when constant attacks on Ottawa journalists by Stephen Harper’s Conservatives were just the tonic for a news cycle consumed by the Mike Duffy spending scandal. “Consider the recent cascade of Conservative attacks on Canada’s media: “MP Pierre Poilievre trashes Bloomberg’s […]
iPolitics lays off five after ownership change
The new owner of the political journalism website iPolitics has laid off five members of its newsroom, little more than a month after founder James Baxter said nobody was to lose their job in the handover. Torstar Corp., which publishes The Toronto Star as well as The Hamilton Spectator and StarMetro daily newspapers in five major cities, […]
