Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has launched a scathing attack on BCE Inc. (TSE: BCE), the parent company of CTV News, following a controversial news segment that aired on Sunday. The incident has sparked a heated debate about media integrity and political influence in Canada.
During a House of Commons session, Poilievre accused CTV News of running an “extremely dishonest” and “fraudulent” item that misrepresented his words through selective editing. The news clip in question gave the impression that Poilievre was introducing a non-confidence motion to challenge the Liberal government’s dental care program, when in fact, he had been discussing a “carbon tax election.”
Poilievre’s criticism extended beyond the news outlet to BCE Inc. itself. He targeted CEO Mirko Bibic, accusing him of being overpaid and mismanaging company finances. The Conservative leader also highlighted BCE’s recent credit rating downgrade to near-junk status by Moody’s, a top ratings agency.
Next time you're on hold forever with Bell trying to get someone to help fix miserable service, remember that Trudeau protects the company against real and complete competition to gain favourable coverage on CTV.
— Pierre Poilievre (@PierrePoilievre) September 23, 2024
No wonder Bell's bonds have been downgraded to one level above…
In response to the incident, CTV News issued a statement acknowledging that Poilievre’s comment was taken out of context due to a misunderstanding during the editing process. They offered an unreserved apology to Poilievre and the Conservative Party of Canada.
CTV gets caught pumping disinformation to protect the Prime Minister who subsidizes them.
— Melissa Lantsman (@MelissaLantsman) September 24, 2024
Here, I fixed it for you:
“A misunderstanding during the editing process made us splice three sentences together to say something that Pierre didn’t say because we are subsidized by the… https://t.co/TCELFs4QRb
However, the Conservative Party has dismissed the apology as insufficient. Sebastian Skamski, a spokesperson for Poilievre, announced that Conservative MPs would refrain from engaging with CTV News and its reporters until they explicitly acknowledge what he called “malicious editing.”
New stage in Canada Tory leader Poilievre v BCE. pic.twitter.com/s7w50soKQY
— Paul Vieira (@paulvieira) September 24, 2024
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