Federal consultants have drawn up a secret list of 25 reliable journalists they can guide on how to cover general elections, says Blacklock’s Reporter..Access To Information records shows the consultants are led by a former Toronto Star executive..The names of reporters and their approved newsrooms were censored, with the Department of Canadian Heritage withholding the records for three years under the Access To Information Act..Approved media were named in a program aimed at “organizing Canadian media outlets to participate in a network to address misinformation.”.“A critical first step in this initiative is to introduce a broad network of Canadian journalists, civil society leaders and media executives to the issues surrounding misinformation, the history and implications it has had on previous elections and best practices in countering it,” said a memo by the Public Policy Forum..The Policy Forum based in Ottawa received a total $2,575,000 in federal subsidies to manage a Digital Democracy Project that expires in 2023. Its CEO is Edward Greenspon, former vice-president of the Toronto Star..Greenspon did not respond to questions..The list of reliable media originally included “a group of approximately 50 journalists representing traditional and digital newsrooms.” It was subsequently halved to 25 including reporters named as prospective guests at a two-day training session for guidance on news coverage..The list of “potential news organizations to invite” included those who “may require travel subsidy.”.Greenspon in memos to the department complained the Internet was “replete with trade-in disinformation and hate” — he provided no Canadian examples — and said it was necessary to “ensure a regular flow of trustworthy information.”.Only the department could ensure news was trustworthy, he added..“One way or another it falls to government to ensure the new media ecosystem does not operate in ways contrary to the Canadian principles of peace, order and good government and that they do not further detract from public trust which is already nearing dangerous lows,” wrote Greenspon..A separate agency, the federal Communications Security Establishment, from 2019 managed a $7 million-a-year program to monitor for misinformation by foreign agents. None was found..The agency in its 2020 Annual Report to Parliament said there was evidence of fake news or any activity that “affected Canada’s ability to have a free and fair election.”. Secret list compiled of reporters who can be guided in federal election coverage .However the Policy Forum’s Greenspon said trusted media required federal guidance in correctly covering political issues..“Particular challenges may include disinformation and hateful speech regarding immigrants or Indigenous people, foreign targeting of diaspora groups in Canada, hijacking of crises to spread conspiracies (e.g. following Québec mosque attack or Toronto van attack), the spread of falsehood in local news deserts and attempts to exacerbate existing tensions in the national fabric (e.g. East-West, anglophone-francophone, etcetera),” he wrote..The Public Policy Forum has a history of producing federally-funded research favoured by the Liberals. In 2017, it received $130,000 in Heritage department funding for its study The Shattered Mirror: News, Democracy And Trust that recommended $100 million-a-year in subsidies to federally-approved media..Cabinet subsequently adopted the recommendation. Parliament in 2019 passed amendments to the Income Tax Act worth $595 million including payroll rebates to media that applied to the Canada Revenue Agency..The Western Standard does not accept any government bailout money.
