I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas. Thank you for reading this column and for sharing your thoughts with me throughout the year. .I would also like to send my regards to all of you Western Standard readers for heartily embracing my new weekly broadcast of 'Ottawa Exposed.' I’d like to tell you why I think Ottawa — meaning the federal government, of course — requires exposure and why it should be a weekly occurrence. .There’s an old expression that applies to people who get elected from various parts of Canada, who come to the nation’s capital with the enthusiasm and energy to do good work, but quickly become subsumed by the inertia, the bureaucracy and the government colossus that resides there. It’s called 'Ottawashed' and it’s a transformational process that's alive and well as people forget they have not come to Ottawa to necessarily endorse the status quo, but to challenge it when necessary. .Having worked the Washington beat and the Ottawa beat, I can tell you the D.C. press corps are much more inclined to investigate and report scandal than their Canadian counterparts. For many, it’s just easier to ignore the rot around them because the effort to clean it up just seems oppressively difficult — or 'challenging' as Prime Minister Trudeau would put it. .If you remember the film 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers,' which was really about how communism could infiltrate the minds of loyal Americans, it’s the same deal. People don’t change their appearance, they wear the same suits and order their favorite selections from the menu, but inwardly they have changed and have become part of the problem. That same experience can apply to journalists who become so wedded to the establishment they're afraid to question that establishment. .In the last three years, Trudeau has taken that coziness to new heights by buying off the mainstream media with subsidies. In another time and era, this would have provoked outrage in the Canadian public and the media itself — who does Trudeau think he is using taxpayer money to literally purchase the favour of the press? This sort of thing just doesn’t happen in a stable democracy. You’d think this was some sort of third-world tyranny where the government either silences or colludes with the media to print and broadcast only news that is favorable to the ruling powers. .Yet when Trudeau did this very thing, there was little protest from the mainstream media. They enthusiastically parroted Trudeau’s talking points that this “investment” was necessary to preserve the legacy media from extinction and that it was all about preserving a free press. .Since then, much of the media has been content to repeat Trudeau’s talking points on a myriad of other issues and reserve their energy for doing features on how the Liberal government is leading the way on reproductive rights and assisted suicide. Watch an Ottawa news conference and you'll see something about as predictable as an alcoholic getting drunk at happy hour. The national press corps too often would rather discuss the latest colour of Trudeau’s socks than how his policies are bringing Canada to the brink of financial and social disaster. .The Western Standard is committed to not accepting taxpayer money as much as it's dedicated to telling the truth. .That is what Ottawa Exposed — every Thursday at 2 p.m. MST — is all about. I want to shine the light of truth into the very corridors of power and illuminate how the federal government often acts in secrecy and mendacity. .It has become a truism to say we must speak truth to power. Unfortunately, it is also rare for those whose speech can actually affect the exercise of that power to fulfill that prerogative. .But not on this reporter’s watch. Not as long as there’s a lie, falsehood, scandal or cover-up to expose. .This is what the Western Standard is up againstThe Trudeau government is funding lies and propaganda by directly subsidizing the mainstream media. They do this to entrench the powerful Eastern, woke and corrupt interests that dominate the political, social and economic institutions in Canada. Federal authorities are constantly trying to censor us and stop us from publishing the stories that they don’t want you to read. Ottawa may weaponize our taxes and police against us, but we’ve got a powerful ally on our side.You. Free men, and free women. We need you to stand with us and become a member of the Western Standard. Here’s what you will get for your membership:Unlimited access to all articles from the Western Standard, Alberta Report, West Coast Standard, and Saskatchewan Standard, with no paywall. Our daily newsletter delivered to your inbox. .Access to exclusive Member-only WS events.Keep the West’s leading independent media voice strong and free.If you can, please support us with a monthly or annual membership. It takes just a moment to set up, and you will be making a big impact on keeping one the last independent media outlets in Canada free from Ottawa’s corrupting influence.
I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas. Thank you for reading this column and for sharing your thoughts with me throughout the year. .I would also like to send my regards to all of you Western Standard readers for heartily embracing my new weekly broadcast of 'Ottawa Exposed.' I’d like to tell you why I think Ottawa — meaning the federal government, of course — requires exposure and why it should be a weekly occurrence. .There’s an old expression that applies to people who get elected from various parts of Canada, who come to the nation’s capital with the enthusiasm and energy to do good work, but quickly become subsumed by the inertia, the bureaucracy and the government colossus that resides there. It’s called 'Ottawashed' and it’s a transformational process that's alive and well as people forget they have not come to Ottawa to necessarily endorse the status quo, but to challenge it when necessary. .Having worked the Washington beat and the Ottawa beat, I can tell you the D.C. press corps are much more inclined to investigate and report scandal than their Canadian counterparts. For many, it’s just easier to ignore the rot around them because the effort to clean it up just seems oppressively difficult — or 'challenging' as Prime Minister Trudeau would put it. .If you remember the film 'Invasion of the Body Snatchers,' which was really about how communism could infiltrate the minds of loyal Americans, it’s the same deal. People don’t change their appearance, they wear the same suits and order their favorite selections from the menu, but inwardly they have changed and have become part of the problem. That same experience can apply to journalists who become so wedded to the establishment they're afraid to question that establishment. .In the last three years, Trudeau has taken that coziness to new heights by buying off the mainstream media with subsidies. In another time and era, this would have provoked outrage in the Canadian public and the media itself — who does Trudeau think he is using taxpayer money to literally purchase the favour of the press? This sort of thing just doesn’t happen in a stable democracy. You’d think this was some sort of third-world tyranny where the government either silences or colludes with the media to print and broadcast only news that is favorable to the ruling powers. .Yet when Trudeau did this very thing, there was little protest from the mainstream media. They enthusiastically parroted Trudeau’s talking points that this “investment” was necessary to preserve the legacy media from extinction and that it was all about preserving a free press. .Since then, much of the media has been content to repeat Trudeau’s talking points on a myriad of other issues and reserve their energy for doing features on how the Liberal government is leading the way on reproductive rights and assisted suicide. Watch an Ottawa news conference and you'll see something about as predictable as an alcoholic getting drunk at happy hour. The national press corps too often would rather discuss the latest colour of Trudeau’s socks than how his policies are bringing Canada to the brink of financial and social disaster. .The Western Standard is committed to not accepting taxpayer money as much as it's dedicated to telling the truth. .That is what Ottawa Exposed — every Thursday at 2 p.m. MST — is all about. I want to shine the light of truth into the very corridors of power and illuminate how the federal government often acts in secrecy and mendacity. .It has become a truism to say we must speak truth to power. Unfortunately, it is also rare for those whose speech can actually affect the exercise of that power to fulfill that prerogative. .But not on this reporter’s watch. Not as long as there’s a lie, falsehood, scandal or cover-up to expose. .This is what the Western Standard is up againstThe Trudeau government is funding lies and propaganda by directly subsidizing the mainstream media. They do this to entrench the powerful Eastern, woke and corrupt interests that dominate the political, social and economic institutions in Canada. Federal authorities are constantly trying to censor us and stop us from publishing the stories that they don’t want you to read. Ottawa may weaponize our taxes and police against us, but we’ve got a powerful ally on our side.You. Free men, and free women. We need you to stand with us and become a member of the Western Standard. Here’s what you will get for your membership:Unlimited access to all articles from the Western Standard, Alberta Report, West Coast Standard, and Saskatchewan Standard, with no paywall. Our daily newsletter delivered to your inbox. .Access to exclusive Member-only WS events.Keep the West’s leading independent media voice strong and free.If you can, please support us with a monthly or annual membership. It takes just a moment to set up, and you will be making a big impact on keeping one the last independent media outlets in Canada free from Ottawa’s corrupting influence.
