FILDEBRANDT: Here's the Western Standard's 'DEI' policy

On Wednesday, the Western Standard's Shaun Polczer brought you a leak of Corus/Global News' "Diversity, Equity and Inclusion" (DEI) policy. It's a racist and sexist policy-grovelling at the altar of anti-racism and anti-sexism, amongst all the latest other "isms." But more on them later. Releasing their leaked DEI policy got me thinking — why don't I release the Western Standard's "DEI" policy for our readers to consider? Because I'm in a shit-disturbing mood as of late, let's do it. From page 60 of the Western Standard's Policies and Procedures Manual:"The Western Standard will provide fair treatment and advancement in the workplace based purely on merit and merit alone. No “affirmative action” or “DEI’ programs exist and shall never exist under the current management of the company."That's it. All of it. The Western Standard will hire, fire, and work with its people on the basis of merit and merit alone. If you don't like it, don't let the door collide with your ass on the way out. I don't make a point of bragging about our "diversity points" as a news outlet, because it's weak and just playing their game. So without going into any detail, I'll just say that our staff is more diverse on most of their silly "DEI" metrics than most news organizations in Canada. I hire the best I can find, and if they turn out to be a diverse group, well that's nice. A year or so ago, I considered signing the Western Standard up to an organization of independent, mostly left-wing media to build alliances against the federal government's Online News Act (C-18.) The membership application form required that the Western Standard include its DEI policy, to which I responded with the two-sentence policy noted above. The person reviewing our application was less than amused, and we stopped the whole thing right then and there. Now, back to the penny-stock juggernaut that is Corus Entertainment/Global News. As it continues to lay off the last of its already anemic newsrooms, it boasts in a leaked memo obtained by the Western Standard, that at least the few remaining people there are so very diverse. Employees at Corus/Global are required to take "anti-racism training." In June, they hosted the Plan International Canada's Youth Leadership Celebration Event. According to the memo: “It was an inspiring event… to support the next generation of young global citizens highlighting issues like Indigenous reconciliation, refugee rights, climate change, global health, disability justice, gender equality and more!”In the leaked memo, the company's extensive staff of DEI commissars state, "Our commitment to our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Mission and Vision remains strong. Nationally, Corus continues to work on increasing its representation of all designated groups and remains committed to reducing access barriers. We are pleased to share that for the 2023 reporting year, we saw an increase in the representation of visible minorities and persons with disabilities across the Corus workforce.”Well good for you Corus/Global. You may have already cut most of your workforce, but at least the last sailors on the ship will make for a good "Employment Equity Report to the Federal Government".Yes, you read that last sentence correctly. The Corus/Global memo admits (or more accurately, brags) that it makes reports on this stuff to Ottawa. I'm sure that will strengthen its reputation for independence. Perhaps Corus/Global is just trying to fuzzy up its image because it's going to need another bailout from the Trudeau government if it is to stave off bankruptcy in the very near future. In its latest quarterly results, Corus warned that it may not be able to meet its debt covenants beyond August. That is, go bankrupt. Worth more than $2 billion not that long ago, Corus' stock is now effectively worthless, near 10 cents on the TSX. .But if it buys more political goodwill with the federal government, perhaps Corus/Global executives will finally be able to prove to their shareholders that DEI is good for business. Canadian style. In the meantime, we're running a real news business at the Western Standard. If you think you're good enough to work here, email us at careers@westernstandard.news. But if your cover letter starts with statistics on your race, religion, sexual preferences or pronouns, don't bother. And if you just want to help us do what we do best, please consider making a donation. I can promise you — it will go toward hiring the best reporters in the business — not the most diverse.