Two CTV staffers “are no longer members of the CTV News team,” after an internal investigation found they were responsible for altering a video clip that led to Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre blacklisting the news network on Tuesday.
It is unclear if the CTV employees were fired or if they resigned. A spokesperson for Bell Media confirmed that “both employees no longer work for CTV or any Bell Media entity.” They did not respond to the Star’s question about the employees’ identities, and did not clarify if they were fired or had resigned.
The clip of Poilievre that misrepresented his comments had spliced together his words to give the impression the Tory leader was introducing his non-confidence motion to get rid of the Liberal government’s dental care program.
In reality, the Conservative leader had said he was putting forward a motion to trigger a “carbon tax election.â€
The Bell Media-owned network, in a , said the investigation was launched “to determine whether a breach of our editorial policies and practices had occurred in this case.”
“The investigation found that two members of the CTV News team are responsible for altering a video clip, manipulating it for a particular story,” the statement continued, saying the actions that violated editorial standards were “unacceptable.”Â
“Our duty to provide accurate, fair and balanced coverage of the issues that matter to Canadians, and to do so fully independently, is of the utmost importance to us.”
The Star reached out to Poilievre’s office for comment but did not hear back before publishing. It’s unclear if CTV’s latest internal investigation and parting of ways with the staffers involved is enough for Poilievre to lift his ban on speaking to members of the news network.
On Monday, CTV issued an apology for taking Poilievre’s remarks “out of context,†and attributed the error to a “misunderstanding during the editing process.â€
However, the apology wasn’t enough to satisfy the Conservatives; Poilievre’s spokesperson demanded that until the network directly acknowledged its “malicious editing and omission of context to undermine Pierre Poilievre, Conservative MPs won’t engage with CTV News and its reporters.â€Â
In the days since CTV’s error, Poilievre has accused the network of favouring the Liberals in its coverage, a claim the Conservative leader has also previously falsely levied against other outlets including the CBC, The Canadian Press and the ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ Star.Â
In the House on Tuesday, Poilievre also alleged that the CEO of Bell Media, Mirko Bibic, “and his cronies at that company (CTV) are going after me ... because they know that I am standing up for the people against crony capitalists and insiders like them.”
Poilievre’s vow to blacklist CTV journalists is a “direct attack†on Canada’s democracy, the Liberal government’s Heritage Minister, Pascale St-Onge, told the Star Wednesday several days after the controversial news segment aired.
St-Onge told the Star that while CTV contradicted its journalistic ethics, the network upheld its “obligation to rectify†the oversight.
That’s why she believes the decision to implement a blanket ban for a singular mistake and dictate the terms of CTV’s apology is “totally disrespectful to our institutions.â€
In response to CTV’s initial statement on Monday, Poilievre’s office on Wednesday insisted: “CTV News did not apologize.”
“Rather, they tried to excuse their malicious mischaracterization, removal of context, and unethical splicing of Mr. Poilievre’s comments as a simple ‘misunderstanding during the editing process.’ We expect fairness, accuracy, and accountability in how our positions are represented by the media,†the statement read.
“It’s no surprise that Trudeau’s Liberal MPs and ministers are faithfully defending their loyal allies in the media when they are provided favourable coverage thanks to CTV’s blatantly unethical journalistic malpractice designed to undermine our common sense position.â€
St-Onge said Poilievre’s condemnation of mainstream Canadian news outlets also falls flat because of the numerous instances in which he uses graphics of their news headlines in social media posts to bolster his political agenda.
“He uses coverage when it helps his profile, when it goes hand-in-hand with his ego,†she said.
“But whenever there’s a critique or ... a journalist asks difficult questions that he doesn’t want to answer, then he throws them under the bus and intimidates (them).â€
With files from Raisa Patel
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