The Department of Justice declined to comment after its senior counsel, Alexander Gay, made a vulgar social media post comparing media critics to animal urine. Blacklock's Reporter says Gay’s remarks come despite the department’s recent commitment to ensuring that journalists “should never be subjected to intimidation or harassment for doing their critical work.”Attorney General Arif Virani’s office did not respond to questions regarding the incident. On May 3, World Press Freedom Day, Virani had emphasized the department’s support for journalists, stating, “Freedom of the press is a cornerstone of democracy and enshrined in our Charter Of Rights And Freedoms. Journalists should never be subjected to intimidation or harassment for doing their critical work.”Gay’s inflammatory LinkedIn post, made Sunday, was a reaction to a Sun Media commentary by columnist Lorne Gunter on the case Blacklock’s Reporter v. Attorney General, currently before the Federal Court of Appeal. Gunter’s August 31 article was critical of government actions.“The only thing bizarre is the journalist that wrote this article and made up some random facts,” wrote Gay. “My late father would call this yellow journalism, which I believe had something to do with a newspaper that was only good enough to train a dog to pee outdoors.”The Department of Justice’s Values And Ethics Code mandates “respectful communication” by employees, stating that federal lawyers must “conduct themselves in a manner that does not harm the reputation of the department.” The Code further emphasizes the importance of “respect, dignity, and fairness” in all dealings with the public.Despite the Code’s clear guidelines, authorities did not address whether Gay’s comments complied with these standards. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in his May 3 statement for World Press Freedom Day, reiterated Canada’s commitment to supporting journalists: “Canada will always stand up for journalists in the defence of media freedom and against misinformation and disinformation. Journalists must be able to do their jobs free from threat or intimidation.”Gay’s post also inaccurately claimed that the term “yellow journalism” referred to animal urine. Historical records show the phrase originated as a 19th-century critique of sensationalist journalism, particularly associated with the New York Journal’s comic strip The Yellow Kid. Critics of the Journal’s coverage, especially during the 1898 Spanish-American War, coined the term to criticize what they saw as exaggerated and unethical reporting.
The Department of Justice declined to comment after its senior counsel, Alexander Gay, made a vulgar social media post comparing media critics to animal urine. Blacklock's Reporter says Gay’s remarks come despite the department’s recent commitment to ensuring that journalists “should never be subjected to intimidation or harassment for doing their critical work.”Attorney General Arif Virani’s office did not respond to questions regarding the incident. On May 3, World Press Freedom Day, Virani had emphasized the department’s support for journalists, stating, “Freedom of the press is a cornerstone of democracy and enshrined in our Charter Of Rights And Freedoms. Journalists should never be subjected to intimidation or harassment for doing their critical work.”Gay’s inflammatory LinkedIn post, made Sunday, was a reaction to a Sun Media commentary by columnist Lorne Gunter on the case Blacklock’s Reporter v. Attorney General, currently before the Federal Court of Appeal. Gunter’s August 31 article was critical of government actions.“The only thing bizarre is the journalist that wrote this article and made up some random facts,” wrote Gay. “My late father would call this yellow journalism, which I believe had something to do with a newspaper that was only good enough to train a dog to pee outdoors.”The Department of Justice’s Values And Ethics Code mandates “respectful communication” by employees, stating that federal lawyers must “conduct themselves in a manner that does not harm the reputation of the department.” The Code further emphasizes the importance of “respect, dignity, and fairness” in all dealings with the public.Despite the Code’s clear guidelines, authorities did not address whether Gay’s comments complied with these standards. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in his May 3 statement for World Press Freedom Day, reiterated Canada’s commitment to supporting journalists: “Canada will always stand up for journalists in the defence of media freedom and against misinformation and disinformation. Journalists must be able to do their jobs free from threat or intimidation.”Gay’s post also inaccurately claimed that the term “yellow journalism” referred to animal urine. Historical records show the phrase originated as a 19th-century critique of sensationalist journalism, particularly associated with the New York Journal’s comic strip The Yellow Kid. Critics of the Journal’s coverage, especially during the 1898 Spanish-American War, coined the term to criticize what they saw as exaggerated and unethical reporting.
