126 Comments
Jan 5, 2022·edited Jan 5, 2022

I, like Paul M below, would love for this country to develop a "not right, not "left" " news presence. I remain a firm leftist, at the fiscal level, an old school leftist, but I want nothing to with the identity politics and purity obsession that have become the norm on the self-identified "leftists" of Canada (who look nothing like the left I grew up with). My union is a constant disappointment on this point too.

The country south of us has developed a centrist media landscape, made up of self-proclaimed "classic liberals", they still aren't leftists other than their so-called progressive values (which does not a leftist make), but they are at least a little more honest than Canada media landscape.

Canadians desperately need a Canadian alternative to the mainstream. So many Canadians who think outside the box have been silenced or fled the country, as to think outside the box in Canada has practically become illegal.

I hope that you can contribute to a new emerging narrative for this country.

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I am excited that you are doing this. But I grieve the CBC, too. Baby with bath-water, out the window--fertilizing the rose bush, with any luck. But probably not. We are moving on. Batya brings up some solid points! ("Economic guilt" vs Racist guilt"!)

Living in Vancouver, across the street from the tent-city of Strathcona Park, seeing the gov't spend huge dollars on buying up the hotels that allowed lower-income people to travel to Vancouver (the Buchan on Haro St., the wonderful Patricia, and thereby Pat's Pub, home to THE best jazz...jazz for free!) Oh my. The working-poor are paying in multiple and unseen ways to support the desperately poor.

I appreciated hearing Batya... but I'd like to think you might provide an alternative source of CANADIAN news for me. We have been inundated with US issues/politics/history. With the way history is now being taught in Canadian schools, the average young person does not know the difference between "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness" vs. "Peace, Order, and Good Government." Or the "frontier mentality" that shaped South, and the sending-out-of-RCMP that shaped this country. Basic foundational stuff, that has created the who-s we are... unrecognized as Uni students get Social Justice degrees and history programs come to pieces.

Ah, but thank you, nonetheless! This is not criticism--it's suggestion :)

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Thanks goodness self-described leftists are beginning to question wokeness. This is by far the most divisive and damaging political doctrine of our time. We need to stop shattering our society into endless identity groups of villains and perpetrators and instead focus on the hard and ceaseless work of building bridges and coming together.

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Bravo and thank you, I am a Canadian conservative, I am absolutely NOT racist, I love people I believe everyone should have equal rights to education, health care, jobs, home ownership, etc..I don’t believe it should be a hand out but a hand up, everyone should have opportunities and it is your right how you use those opportunities. I am by no means jealous of anyone that has made a whole lot of money provided they made it legally, morally and ethically, I say good for them, I just want to be left alone and live comfortably. I do NOT feel it’s anyone’s right to infringe on anyones rights or freedoms, we all share this earth and unless you are doing evil then to each his own as long as know one is being hurt, used, abused or infringing then let people be. Live life, enjoy life, it goes by so quickly, who gives you the right to judge how people conduct themselves, as long as it’s not harmful to you, anyone else or themselves..live and let live .. when we vote for these people to govern we don’t vote them to be intrusive, dictating, abusive or invasive, we vote them in to govern our country for the people, NOT THE PEOPLE. When government start tromping on rights and freedoms it’s no longer a democracy but dictatorship/communism.. we are born free and free is how we should remain. Yes we need laws, rules, morals, ethics, etc, that’s how you keep order and peacefulness but never ever should any government be in such control to impose laws and orders that go against our freedom’s. People should never be manipulated, coerced, forced or made to do anything that is against their will. NEVER. Everyone has a right to their opinion, their beliefs and standards, you don’t have to like it or even agree but that’s freedom. When your freedom is taken away then there is NO democracy.

It use to be journalists were for the people, to ask questions for the people, not a select few but for all, everyone is allowed an opinion but that’s it, not enforcing that opinion on anyone. When you start enforcing your opinion it’s NO longer for the people and it’s NO longer an opinion.

We are all the same, we all put our pants on the same way, one leg at a time, money, education, size, colour, creed, etc makes NO one better then the other, we are all human, we are all created, in which ever way you prefer to believe, we make look, sound, dress, talk, walk, and do things different but we are all of the same species..which is human.

Thank you Tara for this space to allow my opinion.. we can all be better and we can all do better when we decide that WE ARE ALL THE PEOPLE AND WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER❤️🇨🇦❤️

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Tara, BRAVO! As an old, white, male, upper-middle class conservative/Conservative, welcome to my new world. It's a world of "tailored media"...the tailoring provided by the breadth and quality of Substack and stimulated by the narrowness and bias of the existing information sources.

Politics in Canada suffers from its own "wokeness" for all the reasons you discussed today. As a result, we have no one--and nothing--to vote FOR. You can help bring purpose back into democracy by forcefully injecting the individual back into it.

I've subscribed because your views and mine do not always converge. But they do align closely much of the time. Your new medium now has the ability to respect the individual and not simply parrot to the fashionable thought-du-jour.

Please let us know when your income surpasses that at the CBC. We're cheering you on.

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So glad that you are amplifying this conversation in Canada. Working in the inner-city with gang-involved and at-risk youth over the last few years, we have seen the problems that this imbalance is causing. There is a chasm between the views of actual people on the ground vs. the activists and news media that claim to represent them. And the point is that the opinions are very diverse. But almost none of that diversity of opinion is represented - in fact, when someone speaks loudly in favour of something like “personal responsibility” they are ignored at best or called racist at worst – even when they are indigenous or newcomers (the brown face of white supremacy). Glad the pushback is starting to gain steam.

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What we have seen is the death of factual reporting in the news and the rise of narrative. In fact, some journalistic philosophy denies the existence of "facts." We now have "perspective" journalism, which is nothing more than reporting the "news" by taking a side on the issue upon which the journalists is reporting. How that differs from propaganda is difficult to see. And if propaganda is the future of news, then journalism has no future. The late Senator Patrick Moynihan put the issue squarely, “You are entitled to your opinion. But you are not entitled to your own facts.” Modern journalism regards such insight as quaint and naïve.

Pravda and Izvestia were the main newspapers of the former Soviet Union. The former means "Truth" in Russian, and that paper was the organ of the Communist Party. Izvestia means "News" in Russian, and that paper was the organ of the Soviet government. Of course, both were propaganda organs, not real news agencies. And the Russian people knew that. In fact, there was a popular joke about these two news sources: "There is no Truth (Pravda) in Izvestia (the News), and there is no News (Izvestia) in the Truth (Pravda)." The clever play on words exposed the truth.

As Americans leave the "official" news sources behind, we could use such a clever play on words. But it is clear that most Americans know what is going on. They recognize that what news outlets report as fact simply cannot be trusted. Moreover, they also recognize that those who write or present the news have little more than contempt for them and their families. It is not simply that they cannot handle the facts; they don't deserve to know the facts. Instead, they need to be told what to think. Whatever the "elites" in broadcasting may be thinking, this will not end well for anyone.

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Thank you from Vancouver Tara ! I lost a lot of respect for CBC news coverage, particularly around Covid... Great move and thank you for giving Catherine Tait a really good shake !!!

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Thanks for helping me understand more deeply the term 'woke' (still trying to wrap my head around the label). As for me, I am a Civil Servant (soon to be Ex) and now on Leave without pay. I work as a Social Worker, with the most vulnerable population. I have taken people through the pandemic, hearing the incrediable heart wrenching stories on how the measures impacted their lives in a horrific manner. A fever and a cough can literally take one straight into poverty.

First the lockdowns, and then the isolation hotels, to the mandated vaccines-- all having huge negative challenges on the lives of 1000s. I listened to the cries of men who have lost their jobs, women and children fleeing abuse, vulnerable women attacked by private security guards in isolation hotels, single moms having to isolate weeks at home with no money, no phone, no support... endless pain.

Then when the vaccine rollout began and so many rushed to get the jab, for reasons other than health; my clients stated they just wanted to get back to 'normal'. Except there no longer is a normal, for not a day went by where I did not hear of an account of an vaccine injury.

I spoke to my supervisor, my manager, and made reference to these atrocities on social media.

All to no avail. My manager was indifferent to my call of concern and I was banned on Twitter.

I worked at a grass roots level all my career, for deep in my heart and soul I believe that 'ones success is another's success is Humanities success.' (This has always been my mantra). Now I am bound at home. I am at home because PM Trudeau has called me a racist and a misogynistic extremist. I am at home because of all the tyrannical mandates. I am at home because I am exercising my free will, a choice I believe is right for me.

Considered healthy and needed until I was deemed an 'untouchable.'

And now I am away from a population who are in desperate need of care, compassion, and advocacy.

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Jan 5, 2022·edited Jan 5, 2022

I'm a Gen X social democrat (been a member of Canada's NDP for decades). It's so heartening to hear leftists join this conversation. As a cegep (junior college) teacher I can confirm that these views are present on campus, but almost entirely suppressed by a pervasive climate of fear.

One suggestion: could you post transcripts of these podcasts? I know that people like Greenwald and Taibbi do this. This would be helpful for posting quotes to social media, using excerpts in an educational context, etc.

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The vax free cannot even enter most coffee shops, let alone meet there with other human beings to secretly share unallowable speech. Thanks so much for this public forum. Have been praying for an ex CBC person to do this very thing. Prayer answered.

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Tara. We need you. We need many of you. This is a bold and brave step that, in the end, all true journalists must do. For years now, it's baffled me how people who signed up for a discipline that is so critical, so noble, can stomach what has become nothing much more than cheap activism and the furthering of an agenda that seems bent on destroying the fabric of our society. True liberals (not neo-liberal fascists) should be shocked and sickened by what has happened to some of the leading media outlets on the landscape. All we want....all we've ever wanted...is the chance to see a balanced perspective, questions answered and a smart, fair-minded approach to information. CBC and others need to stop trying to prepare us for the Orwellian social credit system and start letting us participate in a free and respectful society where we're not told or mandated what to think. You have my support all the way.

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Question for Tara and subscribers: can you recommend any media outlets that have not been captured by the woke, that are not mediocre (Postmedia, CTV etc.) or right-wing propaganda? It's a wasteland out there for those who crave non-activist, interesting, quality journalism, commentary etc.

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I'm wondering what Batya meant by the working class not wanting social programs (actually, they DO - especially healthcare) but also not espousing trickle down economics. Undoubtedly people would rather make money at good jobs than have things given to them or slave away at bad, low-paying jobs, but she didn't advocate what her policies would be in between these poles. Is she just talking about limiting immigration, raising the minimum wage, and supporting unions? Her idea of "left" wasn't articulated.

Also near the end when she was asked what could be done, I'm surprised she didn't say the obvious: hire working class journalists, don't prioritize upper class "life experience", and de-emphasize the importance of J-School. If intern programs and entry level hirers did this that would be a quick step in the right direction.

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Great discussion Tara. Congratulations on this endeavour. It's all very timely and very important. There is an awakening coming for the woke bubble. More and more, absolutism when talking race, climate, vaccines, is being pushed to the edge, where it belongs. That bubble is shrinking. I have believed for a long time, for example, that the issue in our cities is indeed class and economics, and not as much race. I could never discuss the positives and negatives of Trump's Opportunity Zones program in this area for exactly the reasons you lay out in your podcast. And that's the problem.

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good morning. I am about as conservative as they come. White guy, Boomer, lives in the Iowa.

I was watching CNN at the gym, 60 minutes of non stop January 6 coverage! I couldn't believe it. Isn't there any news to cover. I am very interested what is their driving force? Is this Democrats only campaign theme? Your better question, the Media, They actively squash any dissent. I cannot understand how they make money, stay on the air.

I believe it starts with American Education System. As you have stated. Liberal ideas taught thru out our system. It breaks my heart. By the same token, people who get their "news" and current affairs from TV, both sides, are not taught how to think critically. They cannot discern fact from fiction, or even know how to figure it out. Generalization of course.

I am a veteran, I love this country, greatest country on the planet, in my opinion. If that was not the case, why are 200000 illegals coming across the border a month? Which is not being covered by media either.

Funny thing, no illegals coming across from the North!!

I like your work. Thank you

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