Month: March 2015

Journalist Laura Robinson Vindicated

March 31, 2015

John Furlong has dropped his libel suit against Laura Robinson, the journalist who broke the story of extensive racial, physical and psychological abuse claims against former Vancouver Olympics head John Furlong. Over 45 aboriginal Canadians gave Robinson on-the-record statements about Furlong’s alleged abuse, and 8 of them gave sworn affidavits.

Why Canadians Can’t Watch HBO’s Scientology Doc

March 30, 2015

A recent episode of Real Time with Bill Maher was withheld from the Canadian market by HBO in the US because Lawrence Wright’s Scientology expose Going Clear wasn’t published here. HBO Canada has yet to secure distribution of the film adaptation of Wright’s book, which aired Sunday in the United States.

PostMedia Kills Cartoon & Gags Staff on SUN Deal

March 27, 2015

Aislin:

“Yesterday, a memo went out from head office in Toronto asking that all sites refrain from publishing commentary of any kind on the Postmedia Sun deal. The problem is, I didn’t get the memo – and I drew up this cartoon! Obviously, The Gazette can’t print it under these circumstances. Nevertheless, I am throwing it out there for Facebook friends amusement!”

Wynne Waters Down own Bill, Benefiting own Libel Suit

March 24, 2015

A recent change to legislation proposed by Kathleen Wynne’s Liberal government to stop frivolous defamation lawsuits will leave anyone currently burdened with one, journalists included, out in the cold. The change comes amidst serious potential conflicts of interest for Wynne and the Ontario Liberal Party, and potentially benefits Wynne’s own position as a plaintiff in a pending defamation suit.

Ghomeshi Witness Won’t Participate With CBC Internal Investigation

March 23, 2015

CANADALAND has learned that former CBC employee Roberto Verì, the only person who has come forward to say he witnessed Jian Ghomeshi sexually abuse a woman, has refused to participate in CBC’s internal investigation of the disgraced host.

Here’s the Footage that got a CBC Doc Pulled off the Air

March 22, 2015

CANADALAND has acquired a copy of Volunteers Unleashed, the CBC documentary on the “dark side” of voluntourism that was yanked from the broadcast schedule and scrubbed from CBC.ca without explanation last Thursday, right before it was supposed to air nationally.

Why did the CBC Just Pull an Exposé on ‘Voluntourism?’

March 20, 2015

UPDATE APPENDED (MARCH 20th, 1:45 pm) 
Last night CBC TV was set to air the documentary Volunteers Unleashed, described on its website as “a look at ‘voluntourism’ – the fastest and most controversial travel sector.”
The doc, which promised a look at the “dark side” of the “problematic” volunteer travel industry, was promoted throughout the day:  CBC teased it through their official twitter account while director Brad Quenville hyped it on local CBC radio shows across thecountry.

It never ran.

Instead, the CBC re-ran a doc called Wild & Dangerous: The World of Exotic Pets.

The CBC web page for Volunteers Unleashed vanished, as did the promo clip on this page.

So what happened?
According to the CBC’s Michael Claydon, Executive Producer of Independent Documentaries, the CBC, “had a copyright issue with some footage in the doc. It requires some re-editing so we are going to re-schedule so the producer can make the changes.”
CANADALAND has learned that this is not the full story.
What we can report so far is this:
1.Volunteers Unleashed includes critical coverage of Me to We, the for profit counterpart of Free the Children, the massive charity run by Marc and Craig Kielburger.
2.Years ago, when Saturday Night Magazine ran a story questioning Free the Children’s fundraising methods, Craig Kielburger sued the magazine for libel, eventually settling out of court for $319,000 (Saturday Night is now defunct).
3. Yesterday Craig Kielburger wrapped a stint as a panelist on CBC’s Canada Reads.
To be clear: CANADALAND cannot report any information at this point linking Craig Kielburger, Free the Children or Me to We to the disappearance of Volunteers Unleashed. We have requested comment from Kielburger, and will update our coverage when and if answers are provided.
UPDATE (MARCH 20, 1:45PM)
Free the Children has confirmed that they “did raise a concern (with the CBC) when we determined the film included the use of unauthorized footage of We Day when referring to the growing levels of youth volunteerism/voluntourism across Canada…we requested that the unauthorized We Day footage be removed.”
Free the Children’s press representative Angie Gurley writes further that “we did not ask for the documentary to be pulled…Me to We trips was not one of the operators profiled and furthermore as confirmed to us by both Executive Producer, Doc Zone, Michael Claydon and the Director of the documentary, Brad Quenville, there was no critical coverage of Me to We or We Day in the film.”
 
Developing…

Which Reporters Don’t Bother To Encrypt Email?

March 19, 2015

Thousands of people in Canada have access to top secret government documents, but if any of them are considering following in the footsteps of Edward Snowden and leaking records to journalists, they will find few reporters in this country who are capable of protecting them.

Does the Globe and Mail Understand What Reasonable Accommodation Means?

March 17, 2015

The assertion that the niqab has nothing to do with Islam is a kind of catnip for liberals who are somewhat uncomfortable with the practice of niqab-wearing, but who also find Stephen Harper’s Islamophobia distasteful. It allows them to support and defend ‘moderate’ Muslims, while demanding that Muslims who make them feel uncomfortable get in line.

Dear White Editors: Invite Someone Out for a Coffee

March 12, 2015

There are pragmatists and social climbers in every group, but the idea that nonwhite cultures mostly value moneymaking above breaking into the field of journalism is absurd. We want to clip our sons and daughters’ articles out of magazines and frame them. We want them to work from the inside, hopefully to change perceptions about us.