Right-wing media including Rebel News dominate post-debate news conferences
CBC
Rebel News and other right-wing media outlets dominated the question-and-answer sessions with federal party leaders after Wednesday's French-language leaders' debate — though not all of them got answers to their questions.
Liberal Leader Mark Carney was the first leader to take 10 minutes of questions from the media after the debate, which took place at CBC/Radio-Canada in Montreal.
The news conference is overseen by the Leaders' Debate Commission, an independent debate-planning body that sets out the criteria parties must meet for their leaders to participate in the event. The organization is also responsible for accrediting journalists who participate in the Q&A session after the debates.
While the debate was hosted in a CBC/Radio-Canada building, the public broadcaster had no part in organizing the Q&A sessions that followed. It was responsible for choosing a venue and producing the debates for broadcast.
Members of the media lined up in two rows, one for English questions and one for French questions. Right-wing media outlets stacked the long lines and managed to get questions to each of the leaders.
Carney received a question from a Juno News reporter who said his campaign is based on putting the Liberal leader in front and "hiding" people who were close to former prime minister Justin Trudeau.
In his reply, Carney called the question "rather odd," but said his team includes both new and experienced candidates.
WATCH | Carney takes questions from media after French debate:
Carney also received a question from a representative from True North, a conservative media outlet. The reporter asked him how many genders there are, to which Carney responded that "in terms of sex, there are two."
The reporter then asked if Carney believed that biological women have the right to their own spaces. Carney said that "as a general objective, yes," and that his government values all Canadians.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, who was next to speak with reporters, refused to answer questions from Rebel News representatives and said the organization spreads disinformation.
When a second reporter from the same organization came to the mic, Singh said: "You know where I'm gonna go with this though, right?" before repeating that he wouldn't answer questions from the outlet.
WATCH | Singh's post-debate news conference:
Rebel News posted on its website Wednesday that it had mounted legal pressure on the Leaders' Debates Commission to have greater access in order to get more questions to the leaders.
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