Minister overseeing media subsidies claims Poilievre feud with CTV motivated by desire to avoid 'difficult questions'

Canadian Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge has claimed that Pierre Poilievre's feud with CTV has been motivated by a desire to avoid "difficult questions" from journalists.She made no mention of the fact that it all started because CTV deceptively edited a clip of the Conservative leader, nor that the network admitted to having made a mistake..In a post on X, St-Onge highlighted the Conservative caucus' new policy of not engaging with CTV or its staff until it issues a formal apology that "explicitly acknowledges the malicious nature of their editing."She suggested Poilievre had a "hidden agenda" to "not have journalists ask him difficult questions.".Many were quick to call her out, arguing the network's actions should be condemned by all, regardless of political leanings."You're the Heritage Minister and you have no problem with the media deliberately editing clips to make your political opponent say things he didn’t say," one user wrote. "You are a disgrace."The four-second clip in question was broadcast by CTV on September 22, and purported to show Poilievre suggesting the Conservatives' opposition day motion and confidence vote were motivated by a desire to put an end to the Liberals' dental care program, not the carbon tax. He can be heard allegedly claiming, "That's why we need to put forward a motion," though he is only depicted uttering the second half of the sentence.The Conservative leader's media relations team quickly discovered that what he said in the clip did not match the transcript from the scrum from which the audio was taken. Instead, his comments appeared to be made up of three separate sections spliced together."After nine years of this NDP-Liberal government, they've doubled the debt, double housing cots, caused the worst inflation in 40 years, sent people to the food bank, unleashed crime and chaos in our communities. That's why it's time to put forward a motion for a carbon tax election. A carbon tax election needed because the NDP-Liberals plan to hike the carbon tax by 300% all the way to 61 cents a litre, which would cripple our economy, put hundreds of thousands of people out of jobs, mean empty shelves at grocery stores. We need a carbon tax election so Canadians can vote to axe the tax, build homes, fix the budget, and stop the crime with a common sense Conservative government."All mentions of the carbon tax were left out of the clip..In its apology, CTV admitted that the clip was presented "out of context," blaming the "misrepresentation" on a "misunderstanding during the editing process.".Poilievre's director of media relations, Sebastian Skamski, said the "so-called 'apology'" was not good enough, and announced the aforementioned move to refuse to engage with the network.

Minister overseeing media subsidies claims Poilievre feud with CTV motivated by desire to avoid 'difficult questions'

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