Rebel News Podcast - EZRA LEVANT ｜ The media establishment just got a massive reality check

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00:00:39.600 Now, let's get into it. 0.99

00:00:40.840 Tonight, Sheila Gunn-Reed hits a home run in Parliament.

00:00:57.640 It's April 16th, and this is the Ezra LeVant Show.

00:01:00.340 You fight for freedom!

00:01:03.420 Shame on you, you censorious bug! 0.94

00:01:10.840 Oh, hi, everybody. Ezra here. I'm with my friend Sheila Gunn-Reed. I'll tell you why in a moment. 0.84

00:01:20.060 But first, just a note behind us, the statue of Terry Fox. We're on Spark Street in downtown

00:01:25.680 Ottawa, one block away from the street where all the truckers were four and a half years ago

00:01:30.680 in the trucker convoy. And I think of this Terry Fox statue from time to time

00:01:35.920 because I think the Canada of Terry Fox is long gone now.

00:01:40.660 We're in a totally different country with different values.

00:01:43.400 Wouldn't surprise me if before too long that statue is torn down

00:01:46.760 like John A. MacDonald in Queen Victoria.

00:01:49.340 Anyways, the reason I'm here is because a very exciting thing happened.

00:01:52.780 As you may know, Sheila Gunn-Reed isn't just the chief reporter of Rebel News.

00:01:57.300 She's also the president of something called the Independent Press Gallery,

00:02:01.180 which is exactly what it sounds like.

00:02:03.100 It is a counterweight to the government's parliamentary press gallery, which excludes citizen journalists, independent journalists, and is actually controlled by the liberal government Speaker of the House.

00:02:15.100 So the independent press gallery is for people who don't want to be part of the regime, who don't want to take government funding.

00:02:21.940 And it provides services to its dozens of members, almost more than a half a hundred services, including legal training on things like defamation and media law.

00:02:31.520 And we've actually just created a security budget for independent journalists who are going onto the street and might be attacked by Antifa or pro-Hamas protesters.

00:02:40.560 So the Independent Press Gallery that Sheila runs is a real organization.

00:02:44.920 And what a delight that she was invited to testify in Parliament before a House of Commons committee on heritage and culture.

00:02:55.700 And Sheila, have you ever testified before Parliament before?

00:02:59.060 No, never.

00:02:59.740 I watch a lot of committee hearings, so I know how these things go.

00:03:03.840 But frankly, I was a little surprised that the Conservatives on committee reached out to me and asked if I would testify on behalf of the Independent Press Gallery of Canada.

00:03:13.680 They're undertaking a study of the media landscape and the state of media in Canada.

00:03:18.760 And I thought, this is my opportunity to just let the Liberals have it.

00:03:22.840 It was excellent. I did not see your remarks in advance. I was sort of nervous and excited.

00:03:27.340 I have to think it was one of the best five minute distillations about our philosophy of an independent press I've ever heard.

00:03:35.760 It was amazing. Without further ado, let me show you. The committee was televised.

00:03:41.440 Here's Sheila's statement. I was hanging on every word. Take a look.

00:03:46.260 Thank you for the opportunity to appear here today. My name is Sheila Gunn-Reed.

00:03:50.240 I'm the president of the Independent Press Gallery of Canada and the editor in chief of Rebel News.

00:03:56.000 The independent press gallery supports independent journalists all across the country, with legal training, mentorship for young reporters, and security resources as working conditions for journalists in Canada have become increasingly hostile.

00:04:12.400 Because in Canada today, if you don't take the money or join the club, you get shut out or worse.

00:04:19.540 I'm here on behalf of independent, reader-funded journalists who are being pushed out of Canada's media landscape, not by the market, but by their own government.

00:04:31.960 Canada already has a two-tier media system.

00:04:35.480 On one side are government-subsidized outlets.

00:04:39.160 On the other are independent journalists who rely entirely on their market and their audience.

00:04:45.900 We are increasingly denied equal access to both government and the public square.

00:04:52.060 Federal departments have decided who gets answers or not.

00:04:56.160 An independent journalist was told by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada very recently

00:05:01.260 that his organization does not qualify for these services.

00:05:05.800 The services were answers to his questions.

00:05:09.980 Global Affairs Canada has also done the same.

00:05:13.000 But the message is clear.

00:05:14.520 If you're not approved, you're not entitled to answers.

00:05:18.200 The same pattern exists at the political level.

00:05:21.640 We have seen elected officials refuse to answer questions from independent outlets.

00:05:26.620 We have seen reporters arrested for attempting to question ministers.

00:05:31.920 We have been denied access to federal leaders' debates

00:05:36.080 and forced to go to court successfully twice just to do our jobs.

00:05:41.620 And increasingly, independent journalists are not just excluded, they're treated like a problem to be managed.

00:05:49.080 The discrimination does not stop on Parliament Hill.

00:05:52.540 Our journalists are routinely blocked from political events, not because we're disruptive, but specifically because we're independent.

00:06:02.420 At the Liberal Convention, our journalists were refused accreditation.

00:06:07.060 When they then were forced to conduct walk-and-talk interviews outside the venue, security was called on them at least twice.

00:06:14.540 Outside, in public, peacefully talking to people.

00:06:18.680 And in Edmonton, at Mark Carney's campaign kickoff, police were called on independent journalists simply for trying to ask questions.

00:06:26.080 No disruption, no threat, just questions.

00:06:29.460 This is the pattern. Deny access, treat reporting like trespassing, and then escalate it to a security issue.

00:06:37.880 Meanwhile, legacy outlets are waved through.

00:06:41.980 And when independent journalists are shut out, it's not just reporters who are excluded.

00:06:47.280 It's the millions of Canadians they represent.

00:06:50.540 The distortion, however, goes deeper.

00:06:52.980 The federal government has spent hundreds of millions of dollars subsidizing legacy media.

00:06:58.140 The money overwhelmingly flows to outlets that already receive preferred treatment.

00:07:05.340 This creates a closed loop.

00:07:07.120 Subsidized media gets access, and access reinforces their dominance.

00:07:12.800 Independent media, who reject government funding as a matter of principle, are left to compete in a tilted market.

00:07:19.540 I reiterate, we do not want these subsidies.

00:07:22.360 We reject them, because government money in journalism is political contamination.

00:07:29.720 Government policy is also interfering with how we reach our audience.

00:07:34.000 Legislation like the Online News Act has disrupted how news is shared online.

00:07:39.040 When platforms block news links, independent outlets lose a critical connection to their audience.

00:07:45.900 And then there's Parliament Hill itself, the Parliamentary Press Gallery,

00:07:50.440 A taxpayer-supported institution made up largely of our competitors controls access to the Hill.

00:07:57.780 Independent journalists are routinely denied membership, blocking us from press conferences and daily government proceedings.

00:08:05.380 So let's be clear about what this system in Canada produces.

00:08:10.440 Government decides who is a journalist.

00:08:13.160 Government funds those it prefers.

00:08:16.460 Gatekeepers control access to power.

00:08:18.880 and policy limits how the rest of us reach the public.

00:08:22.860 This is not a free press.

00:08:25.240 According to Reporters Without Borders,

00:08:27.540 Canada has fallen from eighth place in 2015 to 21st in 2025.

00:08:33.400 Independent journalists are not asking for special treatment.

00:08:36.940 We're asking for equal treatment.

00:08:39.280 End discrimination in media access.

00:08:42.420 Ensure no journalist is blocked from public institutions by their competitors.

00:08:46.500 and stop using public policy to interfere with how independent media reach their audience.

00:08:52.940 A free press is not funded, filtered, and approved by the government.

00:08:58.040 It is free to challenge it.

00:09:00.540 And right now, that freedom is under pressure, and it's time to restore it.

00:09:04.820 Thank you.

00:09:05.560 Sheila, that was great.

00:09:06.480 Now, by the way, you were sitting next to about five or so people from the independent media space.

00:09:12.860 Well, some of them were.

00:09:13.920 Well, there were a couple of people representing freelancers, which are independent.

00:09:17.960 There was sort of a federation of independent journalists there.

00:09:21.620 Mr. Champagne was the boss of that.

00:09:23.440 I actually thought he did fairly well, yeah.

00:09:26.080 But there was also someone there from something called the Canadian Media Guild, which is a big government, big media labor union.

00:09:33.860 Really, there's no borderline between government and journalists anymore with that group.

00:09:38.980 What do you think about their remarks?

00:09:40.800 the majority of the other witnesses were asking for more money more support even for the freelancers

00:09:48.520 so when you say well technically the freelancers are independent well yeah for now um but that's

00:09:55.240 what their point of showing up at committee was today was to jangle around for more money from

00:10:01.060 the government to complete the cbcification of the remaining media and at the independent press

00:10:08.800 gallery that's what independent means to us it's not just being able to go out and and do your own

00:10:15.660 thing in the world the independent part is independent of the state and of state control

00:10:20.840 and in my statement i mentioned all the ways that the state and the liberals as a political party

00:10:26.040 have tried to control journalism in the country yeah it was excellent i want to throw to some

00:10:30.920 comments by the canadian media guild's representative who of course being politically exquisite was a

00:10:37.220 trans activist who used to work at the CBC. And surprise, he called for more money for the CBC,

00:10:42.700 but he didn't just, I'm talking about the Canadian Media Guild guy. He wasn't just asking for more

00:10:47.020 money. They all want more money. He was asking for the government to regulate critics. So here you

00:10:53.340 have the ultimate government journalist, gimme, gimme, gimme more money that I can't earn on my

00:10:58.640 own. And can you shut up those people who are criticizing me here? Take a look. This is the

00:11:03.360 presentation, a part of the presentation of the Canadian Media Guild, asking not just for money,

00:11:08.860 but for censorship of independent journalists. Supporting CBC Radio Canada is vital in protecting

00:11:14.880 cultural sovereignty. Our public broadcaster provides local journalism where private media

00:11:20.820 has withdrawn, reflects communities across the country, and delivers trusted information.

00:11:25.920 Yet ongoing financial uncertainty has resulted in repeated layoffs, reduced local programming,

00:11:31.360 and increased precarity for workers.

00:11:33.960 Ninety-two percent of our members support increasing CBC Radio Canada funding

00:11:38.360 towards level comparable with other G7 public broadcasters.

00:11:42.780 Eighty-five percent support moving to legislated, stable, multi-year funding.

00:11:48.520 We urge you to follow through on the 2025 government paper,

00:11:51.980 The Future of CBC Radio Canada.

00:11:54.200 It provides a clear roadmap to protect and enhance our public broadcaster,

00:11:58.880 independent of political change.

00:12:00.800 For many journalists, especially women, minorities, and 2SLGBTQ+, members, the toxicity we face online and in person while doing our job is becoming overwhelming.

00:12:13.480 Many are also routinely exposed to traumatic content, violence, tragedy, and hate, leading to high rates of burnout.

00:12:21.500 89% of members say they need supports in health, safety, and mental well-being.

00:12:26.800 We urge the government to support stronger protections through the upcoming Online Harms Act, particularly with journalist safety and mental health as explicit priorities.

00:12:38.060 This would have to be a balanced approach to have harmful content removed from online platforms while not silencing charter-protected rights of freedoms of expression or limiting freedom of the press.

00:12:51.020 Ninety five percent of media workers believe government action is essential to support the media sector.

00:12:57.480 Action like protecting both the Online News Act and the Online Streaming Act.

00:13:01.460 We need you to resist pressure and cohesive tactics in trade negotiations with the U.S. that seek to amend or water down this legislation.

00:13:10.860 Yeah, that's pretty gross, but that's how it is.

00:13:13.440 Now, Kerry Diot, who is a conservative MP from Edmonton, he used to be a journalist himself.

00:13:19.100 He had some genuine questions.

00:13:22.160 Most of the MPs just gave little speeches, but he had some real questions for you, didn't he?

00:13:26.080 Yeah.

00:13:26.920 Kerry Deod asked about our ability to access press galleries across the country, not just in legislatures, but here in Ottawa.

00:13:36.580 Our journalists, and when I say our journalists, I mean journalists from the independent press gallery.

00:13:41.040 They have been blocked from membership of the parliamentary press gallery.

00:13:45.100 And so that limits their ability to get access to politicians and to attend press briefings.

00:13:52.140 So even if it weren't a politician holding a press conference on Parliament Hill, let's say Campaign Life Coalition, they frequently hold press conferences on Parliament Hill.

00:14:01.000 The only people in attendance are the mainstream media and they don't go to those press conferences anyway.

00:14:06.220 So it really harms the ability for everybody to get the news, but also for these organizations to get access to journalists.

00:14:14.480 and we have this group of already subsidized journalists by the state

00:14:21.420 then controlling their exclusive access to politicians

00:14:25.120 and it just becomes a closed feedback loop

00:14:27.580 where at the end of the day trust in journalism just completely erodes

00:14:30.820 yeah and I think they don't realize they seem oblivious to it

00:14:34.820 they're so focused on getting the money

00:14:36.380 they don't realize that a lot of people are watching that

00:14:39.340 and are thinking hang on you're getting paid by the people you're reporting about

00:14:44.400 Isn't that called an ad?

00:14:46.020 Or shouldn't you at least disclose that conflict?

00:14:48.660 I think there's a reason why, there's a lot of reasons why trust is falling every year in mainstream media.

00:14:54.520 But that's a big one.

00:14:55.440 Here, let me show you the total exchange between Kerry Diot and Sheila, which I thought was an interesting back and forth.

00:15:01.300 Take a look.

00:15:01.940 I want to start with Sheila Gunn-Reed. 0.53

00:15:05.220 Sheila, you're both the editor-in-chief of Rebel News as well as president of the Independent Press Gallery.

00:15:13.280 You're saying that, I know that your organization's been in business since 2015.

00:15:19.240 You're very well known.

00:15:21.460 You break news stories, yet you say you're being shut out by the Liberal government and others.

00:15:27.480 So tell me a few specific examples of how you've been shut out.

00:15:32.380 Well, I can speak directly to the Liberal Party of Canada.

00:15:37.280 I mentioned in my opening statement the most recent convention.

00:15:42.800 Our reporters were denied accreditation, and they were subject to doing walk-and-talks outside of the venue.

00:15:50.220 But that's not the only way that we're shut out of being able to hold politicians to account on behalf of the public in this country.

00:15:57.660 Press galleries, including here in Ottawa, but in legislatures all across the country, keep our members from joining.

00:16:09.340 Now, Alberta is a specific exemption to that sort of practice.

00:16:15.100 Even though the Alberta Legislature Press Gallery voted to keep Rebel News journalists out,

00:16:20.760 We were able to be accredited through the Speaker's office because the Alberta government has a commitment to engaging with journalists all across the political spectrum.

00:16:31.020 But it is bizarre that a cabal of your competitors can get together after receiving government subsidies to protect their exclusive access to politicians.

00:16:44.260 That's not how journalism is supposed to work.

00:16:48.340 It seems that these days the vast majority of media outlets are getting direct funding from government.

00:17:05.960 So isn't it inevitable that this would impact their objectivity?

00:17:09.940 Well, we listened to the opening statement from the Canadian Media Guild, which implied very strongly that the majority of newsrooms in this country are government-subsidized, directly or passively through tax credits through the Qualified Canadian Journalism Organization tax credit structure.

00:17:34.780 So where is the incentive to hold the government to account if your newsroom is reliant on the government for its survival?

00:17:47.700 So tell us a bit about Rebel News, the size of your organization.

00:17:52.660 I would guess that you might be a larger organization than some of the press gallery members here in Ottawa.

00:18:00.640 Can you give me some specifics about your audience, your reach, etc.?

00:18:04.640 Well, we are, depending on the day, Canada's largest independent news organization.

00:18:09.420 We have journalists all across the country.

00:18:12.160 We have journalists in Australia.

00:18:15.620 I'll give you an example.

00:18:16.900 During the Freedom Convoy, despite the fact that the CBC building is right across the street from where we're sitting right now,

00:18:24.220 our coverage of the Freedom Convoy dwarfed the CBC

00:18:29.400 because we had independent journalists firsthand in the streets talking to people.

00:18:36.680 And the media landscape is changing.

00:18:40.880 You don't need satellite trucks, and you don't need expensive newsrooms anymore.

00:18:47.020 And yet, because of the government subsidies to failing news organizations,

00:18:54.240 These organizations are not experiencing the market correction I think they so rightly deserve.

00:19:01.080 They are not innovating because the government is hindering that innovation through subsidies.

00:19:09.680 I was a member of the Press Gallery in Alberta,

00:19:13.320 and I find it personally really galling that the Ottawa Press Gallery won't allow you to be a member.

00:19:19.880 How does that even happen?

00:19:20.900 I mean, the press gallery itself is self-governing, but with that self-governance comes a certain level of protectionism.

00:19:33.320 If working journalists in this country, from all parts of the political spectrum, want to hold their government to account, they should be able to.

00:19:43.980 They should be able to work on the Hill.

00:19:46.220 They should be able to scrum politicians from the left and the right and speak to their audience.

00:19:51.760 But the fact that this doesn't happen is reflected in the failing of the media landscape.

00:19:58.780 Nobody watches the mainstream media anymore.

00:20:01.860 The viewership of the CBC is a statistical rounding error.

00:20:06.180 Why do they think that is?

00:20:08.040 It's because they do not reflect the diversity of this country and the political spectrum, regardless of what their CBC mandate says that it should.

00:20:20.040 People are not tuning in and watching the mainstream media anymore because they don't think that the media cares about them.

00:20:27.860 They are not being treated honestly by the media.

00:20:31.300 And that's why the media keeps coming hat in hand to the government looking for more.

00:20:36.180 shouldn't canadians and other journalists be troubled by this absolutely when we see

00:20:45.380 when we see the decline in the trust in the media in this country we can

00:20:54.960 we can point directly to how the media behaves you know i'll give you an example of this during

00:21:04.500 the leaders' debate, there was some controversy that broke out in the media room. Now, all

00:21:13.360 of that was caught on video. Independent journalists were subject to workplace harassment

00:21:20.600 inside the media room at the debates commission. Rebel News journalists were at the heart of

00:21:28.420 that the cbc went on air accused our journalists of misinformation and then denied us the right

00:21:36.720 of reply in fact instead of offering us the right of reply they called the spvm on us

00:21:42.960 that's not appropriate journalism that thank you our time's up for that question well sheila it was

00:21:50.240 interesting to listen to the other parties there were some liberals there of course the largest

00:21:54.460 party in the house of commons there was the bloc quebecois i i don't think there was an ndp mp

00:22:00.220 remember there's only i think nine mps in the whole parliament so i don't i don't know if

00:22:05.160 they're on any committees actually i don't know uh i mean there's such a hey what's your name big

00:22:09.840 shot you know that's right oh you know what it's just i think i don't i don't know if you saw it

00:22:21.260 camera a guy walked by and sort of haggled us i think he might be a senator uh who's about to be

00:22:28.340 appointed to the about to be appointed to the senate any uh these days anyone can be appointed

00:22:33.620 to the senate back to where we were um the ndp is too uh teeny tiny they're on some committees

00:22:40.140 they're on a few committees but their presence on the hill is very small yeah it would have been

00:22:44.200 interesting to hear their point of view the bloc quebecois um mp there were a couple of

00:22:50.680 conversations from the quebec mps i want to start with a bloc mp named mr shampoo that's his name

00:22:55.600 and um none of the other parties had questions for you because i don't think they wanted to give

00:23:01.560 you any oxygen they didn't want to give you any air time they wanted to pretend you don't even

00:23:05.240 exist but mr shampoo asked you questions about me because i was sitting in the audience live

00:23:12.320 tweeting what was going on and i i probably did a hundred little tweets just sort of documenting

00:23:17.840 it minute by minute and one of the things that happened sheila and it happened about three times

00:23:23.200 is the mps complained about the simultaneous translation in in parliament not mps mp oh okay

00:23:31.800 thank you so i think there was another one who said it's very unpleasant because there's a very

00:23:38.000 short delay between when someone says something in english and it's translated into french and

00:23:42.380 vice versa of course because you have live interpreters who are working for their pros

00:23:47.060 It's like, it's very hard to do this very fast.

00:23:49.780 They're excellent interpreters, but there's like a half second lag.

00:23:53.320 So they lower the volume on the speaker and they raise the volume of the interpreter.

00:24:00.320 You know what I mean?

00:24:00.800 If you've ever had one of those simultaneous translations, I was listening on that system

00:24:06.920 too, because they were going back and forth between English and French.

00:24:09.420 So I was on the system and it worked just fine for me.

00:24:13.620 And I know it worked just fine for you, but wouldn't you know it?

00:24:17.060 Whenever Sheila got rolling, got a little bit of momentum, they said, oh, we've got to stop.

00:24:23.340 There's some delay or it's very unpleasant.

00:24:27.460 There's a problem with the translation.

00:24:30.060 Here, take a look at what that looked like.

00:24:32.200 Oh, such BS.

00:24:34.340 And next, we will hear from the independent press gallery, Sheila Gunn-Reed. 0.93

00:24:39.420 You have the floor for five minutes.

00:24:41.700 Go ahead.

00:24:42.860 Chair, members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to appear here today.

00:24:48.160 My name is Sheila Gunn-Reed.

00:24:49.820 I am the president of the Independent Press Gallery of Canada, and I'm also the editor-in-chief of Rebel News.

00:24:55.700 The Independent Press Gallery supports independent journalists across the country.

00:25:01.060 With legal training, mentorship for young journalists, security resources,

00:25:05.820 as working conditions for journalists in Canada become increasingly hostile.

00:25:09.820 Because in Canada today, if you don't take the money or join the club, you get shut out or worse.

00:25:16.820 Give us a minute. We have some sort of… we have an…

00:25:18.820 Appel au règlement, Monsieur Champoux, allez-y.

00:25:21.820 Encore un enjeu avec le son. Là, c'est en français, on a un écho, on a un dédoublement.

00:25:27.820 We'll have to suspend for another moment. I'll let you restart from the beginning when we come back.

00:25:33.820 The first question is to Madame Gunn-Reed.

00:25:39.740 I hope that she will understand the interpretation because, of course, my question will be asked in French.

00:25:46.220 You have described Rebel News as a rigorous media.

00:25:50.760 Is that right, Mrs. Gunn-Reed?

00:25:53.500 You are a rigorous journalist.

00:25:56.540 Would you say so?

00:25:57.280 Our journalists are committed to following the facts wherever they lead.

00:26:05.400 Ce matin, on a eu des enjeux techniques.

00:26:27.280 You are a witness to what has happened.

00:26:32.600 Do you approve of what has happened?

00:26:37.680 I cannot make any assertions about what caused the technical difficulties.

00:26:43.180 If there were any technical difficulties, mine was fine.

00:26:46.280 Donc, d'affirmer.

00:26:47.780 So you have said that this, the Bloc Québécois wanted to stop this meeting, to stop you from testifying without checking the facts.

00:26:59.740 Do you think that this is proper journalism?

00:27:04.360 OK.

00:27:06.500 But Rebel News did.

00:27:09.060 But Rebel News said this on X.

00:27:10.720 I'm just raising this issue, Mrs. Gunn-Reed, because we are here, and you said so yourself, because we want to talk about diversity of voices.

00:27:19.380 Sheila, I'm not saying it's impossible that he genuinely had an audio issue, but we were plugged into the exact same system.

00:27:26.880 Sounded fine to me. It was impossible not to note that every time he objected, it was you who was about to speak.

00:27:33.340 Yeah, it was weird. I was listening to this same translation. I didn't have a problem understanding what was going on.

00:27:39.620 And he took his time. He wasted his valuable committee time asking me about your tweets, which I didn't even read.

00:27:49.420 I had no idea what was going on because I'm here to testify on the state of media in this country.

00:27:54.780 And I was paying close attention to the questions being asked and the exchange.

00:27:58.720 But he was on X worried about what you were saying.

00:28:01.740 Yeah. I mean, first of all, he was the one who it's almost like a grown up version of pulling the fire alarm to get out of a test in high school.

00:28:09.620 You know, oh, the interpretation is not working.

00:28:12.960 We have to stop listening to Sheila Gunn-Reed.

00:28:15.280 And I was tweeting that.

00:28:16.520 And I'm very flattered that a Block MP is following my tweets on Anglais.

00:28:22.560 But he was so mad about them, he asked you if this is fake news.

00:28:26.020 And it was a very funny moment, but I thought it was emblematic of this whole thing.

00:28:29.960 And I was very flattered.

00:28:32.140 I should say, I want to give credit.

00:28:34.520 I didn't know any of the other people who were witnesses today.

00:28:38.120 And there was a fella named Mr. Champagne, I forget his first name, who represented an independent federation of journalists in Quebec.

00:28:46.600 And so naturally I'm on my guard because when I hear federation of journalists, I think, you know, these people are in the tank for the government.

00:28:52.220 But there was several times, two or three times, when he was asked by different MPs, would you agree to some sort of government regulation to keep out opinion journalism?

00:29:02.740 Like it was clear they were talking about you without mentioning your name.

00:29:05.320 And time and again, he didn't take the bait.

00:29:07.380 He said, no. Historically, there's journalists across the spectrum.

00:29:11.000 There's always dissident journalists.

00:29:13.040 I mean, I was pleasantly surprised.

00:29:16.100 And he was not combative, and he was very much liked by them.

00:29:18.940 But he repeatedly said, no, do not regulate out of existence dissident voices.

00:29:24.120 Here's a couple of moments where Mr. Champagne, we got to give the guy credit,

00:29:27.680 because he did a good job, at least on these questions.

00:29:29.980 Of course, he wants money and stuff.

00:29:31.340 But look at him defend the independence of the press.

00:29:33.940 Give the guy credit.

00:29:34.560 The FPJQ has approximately 1,400 members who work in various roles in the information sector.

00:29:40.580 We are the largest association of journalists in Canada.

00:29:44.020 The first message I want to emphasize is the following.

00:29:48.100 Without journalists, there is no journalism.

00:29:50.540 We often hear, on both the right and the left, that journalism is dead.

00:29:55.960 However, nothing could be further from the truth.

00:29:58.040 In Quebec, despite the many challenges we face, excellent journalism is still being produced.

00:30:04.560 I would even say that the quality of journalism in 2026 is superior to what was being done 10 or 20 years ago.

00:30:11.280 There's a lot of talk about this.

00:30:13.980 Perhaps I'm showing my age.

00:30:16.260 I'm 59 years old.

00:30:18.060 I've never been a columnist.

00:30:20.360 I don't give my own opinions in what it is I write.

00:30:24.180 I just talk about the facts and I try to present a balanced point of view.

00:30:28.300 I don't think that this should change as a standard.

00:30:30.600 I think it's important for journalists not to be activists.

00:30:34.560 and to give the floor to many and do a rigorous job.

00:30:42.080 I think that this way of operating should stay in place,

00:30:46.620 even though the world is changing.

00:30:47.980 I think that is what people want.

00:30:51.080 Columnists is something else.

00:30:52.880 I think that people accept that degree of rigor and that standard from journalists

00:30:57.860 in spite of the kind of changes that we are going through,

00:31:01.760 and we shouldn't weaken that standard.

00:31:03.500 Our friend in Quebec, Alexa Lavoie and Guillaume Roy, they're our team in Quebec, and they're so brave because Quebec has a serious Antifa problem and a serious Hamas problem.

00:31:16.600 So we have to send our Montreal team out, our Quebec team out, with bodyguards every time.

00:31:21.680 It costs hundreds of dollars every single time.

00:31:26.360 But Alexa and Guillaume have built up credibility over the years by doing the hard work on the streets.

00:31:32.140 And so very recently, just two weeks ago, Alexa got a sit-down interview for an hour with the leader of the Parti Québécois, which is typically regarded as a center-left party and as a separatist party.

00:31:44.080 But this guy is in the polls, neck and neck, for first place.

00:31:49.060 And he right now is considered the favorite to become the next premier.

00:31:53.300 Alexa sat down with him at his invitation for an hour for a great interview.

00:31:59.000 Here, let me just play a super quick clip.

00:32:00.420 I won't play long, but here's just a taste of that hour-long interview.

00:32:04.780 Just for a minute, take a look at this.

00:32:07.100 In several Muslim countries, such as Saudi Arabia or the UAE,

00:32:12.040 prayers generally take place in mosques or at home, rather than in public spaces.

00:32:18.280 However, in Quebec, as you have seen, street prayers have sparked significant controversy,

00:32:24.520 particularly when they block traffic or take place in symbolic locations.

00:32:29.500 In this context, do you think the government should more strictly regulate or even prohibit such prayers?

00:32:36.500 Yes, and I was the first to say it.

00:32:38.500 I even went through a referendum among my members, because I had a bit of a problem.

00:32:43.500 We didn't have much coverage, except for you who were on the ground.

00:32:46.500 We weren't seeing anything.

00:32:48.500 Apart from what you were reporting, other media chose not to cover it.

00:32:52.500 And within my party, I didn't yet have an official position on certain issues.

00:32:56.500 So, I quickly turned around and said I'm organizing a referendum on a number of questions, including street prayers.

00:33:03.500 And I got astronomical levels of support, over 90% on each question.

00:33:08.500 So, I now have a mandate to define limits on religion.

00:33:11.500 But we're going to have a direct collision with Canada.

00:33:14.500 We'll see that soon. 0.56

00:33:15.500 Because Canada, in any case...

00:33:18.500 Not just Canada, I think. 0.57

00:33:20.500 Good point.

00:33:21.500 Certain groups.

00:33:22.500 Among other things, and certain groups.

00:33:25.500 But the reason is that Canada is currently identified by its neighbors as the place with the most political infiltration in the world.

00:33:32.540 Foreign interference in Canada has become the norm.

00:33:35.360 So we already have a problem with that.

00:33:37.260 But there's also the fact that Canadian courts are very closely intertwined with the Liberal Party of Canada.

00:33:44.400 So there's a general mindset where secularism is seen as something negative.

00:33:49.980 And religion is treated as an ever-expanding right that keeps taking up more space.

00:33:54.500 at the expense of other rights

00:33:56.400 or simply the well-being and peace in public spaces.

00:34:00.360 It was a very substantive interview,

00:34:02.740 but for two weeks, it's all the Quebec commentators,

00:34:07.900 they're obsessed about it, not with the substance of it.

00:34:11.160 They are appalled that their Parti Québécois

00:34:14.940 would deign to visit with Alexa

00:34:17.560 and actually let her ask questions.

00:34:19.580 And that came up again today.

00:34:21.000 Yeah, actually, the Conservatives on committee

00:34:23.480 raised this, a conservative from Quebec raised this issue and didn't ask me about it because I

00:34:29.780 think they know what I would say about it, but pressed the other journalists and the other

00:34:36.000 organizations about how they feel about how the media, including CBC right across the road from

00:34:42.740 us, have reacted to Alexa sitting down with a prominent newsmaker and asking relevant questions.

00:34:50.220 Like in that interview, Alexa asked about firearms rights, immigration, political neutrality, spending, oil and gas, cultural issues.

00:34:58.860 So relevant things.

00:35:00.340 I've never seen any criticism, actually, of the substance, as you say, of the interview, just that he might have gotten cooties from Alexa because she's from Rebel News.

00:35:09.300 That came up today.

00:35:10.380 And again, the Quebec Federation of Independent Journalists or Quebec Federation of Journalists, he actually had a great answer.

00:35:18.420 He said, you know, like, I don't have a problem with that interview, but it seems like everybody else in the media landscape seems to.

00:35:25.040 How do you interpret this?

00:35:28.460 I mean, you know, it was great news last week.

00:35:30.820 It was big news.

00:35:31.760 It was perceived.

00:35:33.960 And I won't hide this.

00:35:36.600 I'm a fan of Radio Canada since my birth.

00:35:39.220 I keep listening to Radio Canada every single day in a consistent manner.

00:35:42.860 It is my favorite, you know, information means.

00:35:46.740 But I have seen the reaction of the journalism world in Quebec and in Canada.

00:35:53.100 So how do you interpret this, Mr. Champagne?

00:35:55.940 The fact that the reaction was so, do you think that the division, the separation,

00:36:03.340 the separation on left and right in journalism in Quebec, you know,

00:36:09.240 suddenly, you know, demonstrated its presence last week?

00:36:12.960 No, not at all.

00:36:13.920 so when we're talking about rebel news the issue is that people say oh they're on the right

00:36:19.160 and that's why they're not being accepted they're not recognized that journalism that's not the

00:36:23.380 issue actually mr saint-pierre plamondon has the right to speak to whoever he wants and i respect

00:36:29.360 that right he has the right to meet somebody from rebel news or any other media and i have

00:36:37.080 absolutely no reproach to make to him in this regard it's crazy to me that they're still talking

00:36:42.340 but I think it was 15 days ago that she sat down with them.

00:36:46.120 And I've seen a half a dozen senior...

00:36:48.860 Today, La Presse, it's one of the leading newspapers in Montreal.

00:36:52.120 They just can't... You know what it is?

00:36:54.500 They have no quarrel or qualm with the questions she put

00:36:56.920 because they were excellent.

00:36:58.040 It's that, uh-oh, we're allowing the untamed wildlings

00:37:01.840 from north of the wall to come in and have... 1.00

00:37:05.480 It's the same reason they didn't want us in the leaders' debates.

00:37:08.440 It's the same reason they're appalled when we show up

00:37:11.220 to to talk to anyone of authority it's the guild and that's the name that the then it that is such

00:37:17.120 a ostentatious guild is a medieval club you have to join we're not stone me since yeah you know

00:37:23.780 they call it the canadian media guild like who the hell do you think you are you were not

00:37:28.520 all that and by the way journalism is not a profession it's an activity you either do it

00:37:34.460 or you don't do it you don't and and don't take it from me peter mansbridge who for for years was

00:37:40.840 the point journalist the lead journalist at the cbc he didn't even i didn't think he finished high

00:37:45.940 school and neither did peter jennings peter jennings you know you've listed peter mansbridge

00:37:51.000 prominent canadian uh broadcaster but also peter jennings who started his career in canada went on

00:37:57.080 to the united states celebrated investigative journalists didn't go to j school carl bernstein

00:38:01.920 from the washington post who broke the watergate scandal not a classically trained journalist it's

00:38:09.260 a thing you do it's an action you commit it's not an exclusive club you join you need a little bit

00:38:15.080 of curiosity you need a little bit of knowledge about the subject matter you need to be a good

00:38:18.420 question asker uh you need to be a bit of a detective what dog isn't barking there's a lot

00:38:24.200 of skills that being a journalist requires uh going to a four-year ideological academy is not

00:38:30.220 one of them there was another witness on the on i'd say the conservative side of the pro-freedom

00:38:35.360 And it's our old friend, Peter Menzies, who used to be the publisher of the Calgary Herald,

00:38:40.000 and then he was on the CRTC during Harper's tenure.

00:38:43.300 And he says he wants the government out of decisions.

00:38:46.060 And he had some interesting comments.

00:38:47.780 I think I agreed with him about 60% of the time.

00:38:50.280 He's with the McDonnell-Laurier Institute.

00:38:52.220 But he said something that I think was incorrect.

00:38:54.700 And I like Peter.

00:38:55.420 I'm not going to be mean to him.

00:38:56.260 I just think he wanted to replace journalistic credentialing.

00:39:00.320 He wanted to take it out of the hands of the government and put it in the hands of the industry translation, CBC and CTV get to decide who is and isn't a journalist.

00:39:11.080 So he he still wants a credentialing. He still wants a kind of journalistic license.

00:39:15.920 And he just says, oh, you know, Rosemary Barton and that bald guy from CBC get to make the decision instead of the liberals.

00:39:22.860 I think he's wrong on that. And I don't think he quite understands. You can't have someone saying you are not a journalist.

00:39:30.320 That's not a free country.

00:39:31.700 Right.

00:39:32.220 And that's already the problem with press galleries all across the country.

00:39:36.220 And it's not a recent development in press galleries.

00:39:39.120 You know, since Justin Trudeau started dumping money into the non-CBC media, it's gotten worse.

00:39:46.400 But way back in 2015, 2016, the Alberta Legislature Press Gallery, when they were unfunded by the Trudeau government, were already pulling this stuff on an ideological basis with me not allowing us to join.

00:40:01.680 You know, it's sort of pitiful watching journalists try and close the gates to outsiders.

00:40:06.320 And they just don't put it together.

00:40:08.940 They don't put their obvious antipathy towards other voices and other points of view.

00:40:13.580 They don't connect that to their falling viewership and falling trust.

00:40:17.940 Well, Sheila, I felt great today.

00:40:20.740 First of all, it was the first time I'd been back in Parliament in a few years, and it was wonderful to see you treated as a guest on par with.

00:40:28.020 There was a professor there and lobbyist.

00:40:30.620 To see you treated with that respect was very heartening to me.

00:40:34.780 I think your remarks were the most interesting, and that's not just because I agree with them.

00:40:39.500 They were the most substantive and on point.

00:40:41.300 You weren't just saying, give me money.

00:40:43.580 And I think you showed dignity, even when that block I tried had a bit of a meltdown.

00:40:50.880 I don't know.

00:40:51.640 I really feel like Rebel News has come a long way in 11 years.

00:40:55.060 And of course, you as our chief reporter have been sort of our flagship flag carrier.

00:40:59.880 And I just have such a great feeling.

00:41:02.040 And of course, we're up against terrible odds and we're up against terrible things and systems.

00:41:07.300 And just yesterday, Mark Miller, the cabinet minister, announced he's moving forward on more online censorship.

00:41:12.400 So dark days are ahead.

00:41:13.580 Which the Canadian Media Guild is cheering for, by the way.

00:41:16.260 Yeah.

00:41:16.780 But I feel like even though the challenges are worse than ever, I think the independent media is stronger than ever.

00:41:24.360 Last word to you.

00:41:25.880 Well, the independent media is bigger than it ever was, and I think it's more trusted than it ever was.

00:41:32.280 And that is owing both to the work of the independent media, but also the terrible work of the subsidized media.

00:41:38.820 You know, you're right.

00:41:39.880 Sometimes I'm very frustrated about the way we're treated, about the way the media treats a story.

00:41:46.360 And then I think, well, that's why Rebel News is a success, because we're filling a gap left by the other guys.

00:41:52.600 And by the way, I have to note, we're standing right outside the CBC, which is right on Spark Street.

00:41:57.440 You have to understand how expensive this real estate is.

00:42:00.720 This has got to be the most expensive place in the city to have a physical office.

00:42:06.100 And it's the same in most Canadian cities.

00:42:08.240 The CBC is right in the heart, like in Toronto.

00:42:11.880 It's right downtown.

00:42:14.040 And that's sort of them flexing.

00:42:16.200 We're big.

00:42:16.880 We're powerful.

00:42:17.680 We're dominating.

00:42:19.160 Yeah, but according to even their own papers, only 4% of Canadians even watch them.

00:42:24.040 Sheila, great to see you.

00:42:24.960 Congratulations again.

00:42:26.380 And to our viewers at home, I want to tell you how proud you should be of your Sheila for what she did in Parliament today.

00:42:32.960 I came down just to watch.

00:42:34.460 I did a little live tweeting, too, but I just wanted to be here for that moment.

00:42:38.580 And it was more than I hoped for.

00:42:40.900 I mean, her speech was excellent.

00:42:43.060 I didn't hear it in advance.

00:42:44.780 I'm so proud of what we've built with talent like Sheila, but with your support.

00:42:50.680 We take no government money, and it shows.

00:42:54.720 That's it for today.

00:42:55.780 On behalf of all of us at Rebel, from the streets of Ottawa to our world headquarters

00:43:01.340 and around the country, to you at home, good night.

00:43:04.460 And keep fighting for freedom.

Rebel News Podcast - April 16, 2026

EZRA LEVANT ｜ The media establishment just got a massive reality check

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