Opinion
When collective and individual rights clash, media must focus on holding the powerful accountable
Plus! How Canadian Press is priming the pumps for billionaires and hedge funds to get even more taxpayer money and how our press just ignored – en masse – the Arab League’s call for Hamas to surrender
If journalism is to be useful in defending democracy, those involved in it need to be intellectually equipped to understand the stakes
Whew! Take a couple of weeks off to attend a Clan Gathering and there’s a lot of hanky panky to catch up on. Peter Stockland has already performed the heavy lifting on how journalists struggle covering the conflict in Gaza, so I’m going to offer a quick round up of deeds that caught the eye. Let’s go.
There will always be conflicts between collective rights and individual liberties. One is valuable in ensuring there is order in society, which is important. The other is necessary to maintain freedom, which lots of people live without but is nevertheless desirable. When there’s too much freedom, people look for politicians who will restore order. When there is too much order, people rebel and demand freedom (see everything from the French Revolution to the Freedom Convoy).
Traditionally, those inclined to the order side if the ledger have been viewed as conservatives while “liberals” have led the fight for individual freedom manifest in the civil rights movement, the emancipation and advancement of women, freedom of speech, etc. that are now viewed as fundamental to the maintenance of a modern, liberal democracy.
But as Pete Townsend wrote a little more than half a century ago, the parting on the left is now the parting on the right (and the beards have all grown longer overnight). Journalists tend to lean left, which means their traditional opposition to the imposition of order has been replaced by a collectivist tendency to sympathize with those imposing it. It is left to the newsroom minorities on the right to carry the torch for individual liberties.
To wit, this CBC story on Nova Scotia’s wild fire-induced ban – enforced with a $25,000 fine until Oct. 15 – on walking anywhere in the woods was oblivious to the impact on personal freedom. Never crossed their minds. When the issue was raised on social media, Twitter journos took up the cause. Stephen Maher dismissed individual liberty concerns as fringe views and maintained that the restrictions could be justified as “reasonable” limitations of Charter rights. While the Globe and Mail’s editorial board called the Nova Scotia move “draconian,” Globe columnist Andrew Coyne nevertheless wondered “How the hell did the right to walk in the woods of Nova Scotia during a forest fire emergency get elevated into the right’s latest cultural obsession?”
It was left to commentators such as Marco Navarro-Genie to point out the intellectual flaccidity fueling parts of the collectivist argument when New Brunswick followed Nova Scotia’s lead and NB Premier Susan Holt said this:
“Me going for a walk in the woods is gonna cause a fire. I can understand why people, uh, think that that’s, that’s. That’s ridiculous. But the reality is, it’s not that you might cause a fire, it’s that if you’re out there walking in the woods and you break your leg, we’re not gonna come and get you because we have emergency responders that are out focused on a fire that is, uh, threatening the lives of New Brunswickers.”
That, believe it or not, was a good enough explanation for the collectivist thinking in most mainstream newsrooms.
If journalism is to be useful in defending democracy, those involved in it need to be intellectually equipped to understand the stakes. And their first instinct must be to treat the suppression of liberty as a serious issue whenever the powerful indulge in it at the expense of the powerless. That doesn’t mean liberty should always trump order (traffic lights are eminently reasonable). But it does mean that journos should demand that politicians justify their actions rather than simply helping them explain them to the Great Unwashed. To do otherwise is to fail.
Mainstream media may not be very good at publishing details of their subsidization, but they can be all over news that promotes the need for more taxpayer loot.
In this Canadian Press story carried by CTV, there’s word of a new Public Policy Forum report that carries a poll showing people didn’t feel fully informed during last spring’s federal election. The authors – wait for it – “suggest a permanent non-partisan election fund could help media outlets better cover political races.”
The news report contained no comment from anyone (I’m right here!) who may have offered an alternative perspective, making the line between news and self-serving propaganda increasingly misty.
A couple of weeks ago, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Canada would recognize a Palestinian state if the terrorist organization that has been running it – Hamas – gave its cross-my-heart-and-hope-to-die word it would stop being a terrorist organization dedicated to killing every Jew it can find. Just before that, the Arab League, which includes Palestine among its 22 members, unanimously called for Hamas to lay down its weapons, release all the hostages it took in its Oct. 7, 2023 assault on Israel and end its rule in Gaza. Other than a CTV online pickup of an Agence France-Presse wire report, this story was ignored by Canadian media. I await an explanation, but it is worth noting that bias is often most vigorously displayed in the news that organizations choose to suppress.
One of the great weaknesses of media is that while an incorrect report may get massive, screaming headlines, the correction that follows gets buried.
The most recent high profile example of this occurred last month when the New York Times and many other organizations, posted a photo of Mohammed Zakaria al-Mutawaq, a child in Gaza who was reported to be suffering from malnutrition. Turns out the photo op was a set up and the poor wretch had other health conditions. The Times posted to that effect once it became aware but, as Eyal Yakoby noted on Twitter, the account used to issue the clarification has 40,000 followers while the one that carried the original story has 50 million.
That’s not trust-building behaviour.
Photo – Global News image of Maritime wild fire
Congrats to Jeff Elgie and the team at Village Media on their continued growth and their latest new launch, Dundas Today. Also kudos to The Line for bringing on Rob Breakenridge, launching an Alberta bureau and publishing my piece on the impact of AI on journalism.
Western Standard’s opinion editor Nigel Hannaford has retired at the spritely age of 77, marking the end of full time work in a career that included the Alaska Highway News, Alberni Valley News, Calgary Herald and eight years as Stephen Harper’s speech writer. It was a privilege to be a guest on his final podcast.
A shoutout also to Todayville.com, which began carrying The Rewrite columns a couple of weeks ago and to my friends at The Hub where my regular column for them resumes Aug. 26 and I have an extra offering coming up tomorrow, Aug. 18. Last week’s Full Press podcast can be found here. Oh, and I’m in the market for sponsors, so if you know anyone feel free to send along any tips.
(Peter Menzies is a commentator and consultant on media, Macdonald-Laurier Institute Senior Fellow, a past publisher of the Calgary Herald, a former vice chair of the CRTC and a National Newspaper Award winner.)
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem rides an ATV along the U.S.-Mexico border wall in El Paso, Texas, on April 28, 2025. Photo: Tia Dufour / U.S. Department of Homeland Security
From The Center Square
By
New contracts to add 230 miles of barriers, nearly 400 miles of technology
Roughly $4.5 billion in contracts have been awarded to expand border wall construction, including adding advanced technological surveillance along the southwest border.
Ten new construction contracts have been awarded through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection to add hundreds of miles of Smart Wall in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.
“For years, Washington talked about border security but failed to deliver. This President changed that,” CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott said. “The Smart Wall means more miles of barriers, more technology, and more capability for our agents on the ground. This is how you take control of the border.”
Scott has championed advancing a Smart Wall border security system for years. A border security system is far more than a wall, he has told The Center Square, it’s an ecosystem.
The system encompasses steel and waterborne barriers, patrol roads, lights, cameras, advanced detection technology, including towers and aerostats, to provide Border Patrol agents with a range of tools to detect and interdict illegal activity.
CBP has published an interactive map to educate the public about the Smart Wall system. The map highlights areas of the 1,954-mile U.S.-Mexico border where wall construction has been completed, where border wall panels or waterborne barriers are under construction, where contracts have been awarded for proposed projects in the design phase or early construction, and planned construction areas that haven’t yet been awarded contracts.
Prior to Jan. 20, 2025, 702 miles of existing barriers had been constructed of primary wall and 76 miles of secondary wall, according to CBP data.
The new plan includes implementing barrier technology along 532 miles of the border where no barrier exists because of unfavorable terrain or remote location. It also includes deploying 550 miles of technology throughout previously constructed barriers, CBP says. Specific areas are also being built out in regions where contracts were previously canceled by the Biden administration.
In California, $483.5 million in taxpayer funding was awarded to BCCG Joint Venture for the Diego 1 Project to construct nine miles of new Smart Wall and 52 miles of system attributes in the San Diego Sector.
An additional $574 million was awarded to Fisher Sand & Gravel Co. for the El Centro 1 Project to construct eight miles of Smart Wall and install 63 miles of system attributes in the San Diego and El Centro sectors.
In California and Arizona, $199.5 million was awarded to Barnard Spencer Joint Venture for the Yuma 1 Project to construct 60 miles of system attributes in the Yuma Sector.
In Arizona, nearly $607 million was awarded to BCCG for the Tucson 1 Project to construct 23 miles of new secondary border wall and 66 miles of system attributes in the Tucson and Yuma sectors.
In New Mexico, $155.1 million was awarded to BCCG for the El Paso 1 Project to replace seven miles of old dilapidated barrier fencing in the Santa Teresa Area of Responsibility with a new Smart Wall. BCCG will also complete 22 miles of system attributes in the El Paso Sector in New Mexico.
Also in the El Paso Sector in New Mexico, Barnard Spencer Joint Venture was awarded nearly $579 million for the El Paso 2 Project to construct 23 miles of new Smart Wall and 81 miles of system attributes.
In the El Paso Sector in far west Texas, BCCG Joint Venture was awarded $850.4 million for the El Paso 3 Project to construct 42 miles of new primary Smart Wall, six miles of new secondary border wall and 46 miles of system attributes.
In Texas, BCCG Joint Venture was awarded $565 million for the Del Rio 1 Project to construct 22 miles of new primary Smart Wall, replace two miles of old barrier wall, and deploy 40 miles of waterborne barrier system in the Eagle Pass Area of Responsibility in the Del Rio Sector.
BCCG was also awarded $364.3 million for the Del Rio 2 Project to construct 10 miles of new primary Smart Wall, 23 miles of waterborne barrier system, and install 10 miles of system attributes in Eagle Pass.
BCCG was also awarded $96.1 million for the Rio Grande Valley Waterborne Barrier Project to deploy 17 miles of waterborne barrier in the Rio Grande River, south of Brownsville in Cameron County in the Rio Grande Valley Sector.
Another $550 million worth of contracts was also awarded to support Smart Wall construction. Additional construction and contracts are expected.
Funding for the projects comes from the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” which President Donald Trump signed into law. It also includes some fiscal year 2021 border wall appropriations that were frozen during the Biden administration.
Waivers were also issued by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to expedite construction of nine miles in the San Diego Sector and 30 miles in the El Paso Sector in New Mexico. Both sectors were inundated with record high illegal traffic during the Biden administration.
Quick Hit:
Melania Trump announced Friday that she’s maintained an “open channel” with Russian President Vladimir Putin, leading to the reunification of eight Ukrainian children with their families. The effort began with a personal letter she sent to Putin in August and has since expanded into coordinated talks between her representatives and Russian officials.
Key Details:
- During remarks in the White House grand foyer Friday, Melania Trump said, “A child’s soul knows no borders,” as she announced the reunification of eight Ukrainian children separated by the ongoing war.
- The first lady said she first reached out to Putin in a letter delivered during President Trump’s August 15 summit in Alaska, adding that “much has unfolded since President Putin received my letter.”
- Trump confirmed that “several backchannel meetings and calls” have since taken place, and that her representative has been working directly with Putin’s team to help connect displaced children with their families.
Announcement from First Lady Melania Trump @FLOTUS @WhiteHouse pic.twitter.com/zaOIhK8uAe
— Office of the First Lady (@FirstLadyOffice) October 10, 2025
Diving Deeper:
In an unexpected and emotional statement from the White House grand foyer Friday, Melania Trump revealed that her private outreach to Russian President Vladimir Putin resulted in the reunification of eight Ukrainian children with their families.
Trump said her involvement began with a letter to Putin, hand-delivered during President Trump’s August 15 summit in Alaska. “Much has unfolded since President Putin received my letter,” she said, describing how the correspondence evolved into a continuing dialogue between her office and Russian officials. “Since then, President Putin and I have had an open channel of communication,” she explained, adding that “several backchannel meetings and calls” have taken place to facilitate humanitarian coordination.
According to Trump, eight children have already been returned to their families within the past 24 hours — including one girl reunited with relatives across the Russia-Ukraine border — and “plans are already underway” for additional reunifications.
Trump framed the effort as part of her broader humanitarian mission to protect children affected by conflict. “A child’s soul knows no borders,” she said, emphasizing that political boundaries should never prevent the return of children to their loved ones.
She added that her representatives have been working directly with Putin’s team to locate and repatriate displaced minors. Several of the children involved in the latest effort were taken across borders during heavy fighting in eastern Ukraine, while others had been separated from relatives due to the chaos of war.
While details of the behind-the-scenes coordination remain limited, Trump’s announcement highlights the humanitarian possibilities that still exist even amid strained relations between the two nations.
Canada’s birth rate plummets to an all-time low
Pierre Poilievre says Christians may be ‘number one’ target of hate violence in Canada
Jordan Peterson needs prayers as he battles serious health issues, daughter Mikhaila says
Devastating COVID-19 Vaccine Side Effect Confirmed by New Data: Study
-
National1 day ago
Canada’s birth rate plummets to an all-time low
-
Crime1 day ago
Pierre Poilievre says Christians may be ‘number one’ target of hate violence in Canada
-
Opinion16 hours ago
Jordan Peterson needs prayers as he battles serious health issues, daughter Mikhaila says
-
COVID-1912 hours ago
Devastating COVID-19 Vaccine Side Effect Confirmed by New Data: Study
-
Alberta1 day agoJason Kenney’s Separatist Panic Misses the Point
-
Censorship Industrial Complex17 hours agoWinnipeg Universities Flunk The Free Speech Test
-
Red Deer6 hours agoThe City of Red Deer’s Financial Troubles: Here Are The Candidates I Am Voting For And Why.
-
Crime15 hours agoThe Bureau Exclusive: Chinese–Mexican Syndicate Shipping Methods Exposed — Vancouver as a Global Meth Hub