By Canadian Press

Right-wing media organization fights denial of leaders’ debate access in court filing

Sep 7, 2021 | 11:06 AM

OTTAWA — A right-wing media organization is turning to the courts after it was denied accreditation to cover this week’s two official federal election campaign leaders’ debates.

Rebel News Network has been granted a hearing in the Federal Court later today after the Leaders’ Debates Commission denied several of their journalists the credentials needed to fully cover Wednesday’s French-language and Thursday’s English-language contests between the major federal party leaders.

Rebel and another organization were initially denied accreditation in the 2019 federal election’s leaders’ debates, but they won access after turning to the court.

Rebel alleges in court documents that the commission was capricious, unfair, unlawful and arbitrary in denying its journalists the right to fully cover the debate in a decision made late last week.

The commission responded in court documents that Rebel violated the commission’s conflict of interest rules because it is actively involved in campaigns about the stories it covers and is an actor in them.

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In a letter filed in court, debates commissioner and former governor general David Johnston cites Rebel’s fundraising campaigns to raise money to oppose COVID-19 vaccine passports, a federal bill to amend the Broadcasting Act, the federal government’s quarantine hotel requirements, and to constitutionally challenge Saskatchewan’s lockdown law, among other activities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 7, 2021.

The Canadian Press