A letter to the Globe and Mail;
Dear Mr. Greenspon,
The Globe and Mail’s front-page story suggesting that the Prime Minister’s Office – or his Director of Communications – in any way hampered the efforts of the evacuation of Canadians in Lebanon is absolutely and patently false.
What is particularly unfortunate about your story is that such a statement could make it to the front page of your paper, supported by only unnamed “federal sources” and no effort whatsoever to contact the Prime Minister’s Office to verify the accuracy of the claim. If you have a source that made such a false statement, I want to assure you via this letter that it is completely and absolutely untrue. I would also hope that, the next time the Globe and Mail suggests that the Prime Minister’s Office was complicit in putting Canadians in harm’s way, you would demonstrate the journalistic integrity to name your source and allow this office to comment on the record for the story.
The Prime Minister – and his office – has done everything possible to expedite evacuation efforts and has been receiving hourly updates on the status of operations. The Prime Minister’s Office has supported Government officials to leverage every contact and every resource to expedite the evacuation of Canadians from Lebanon. The Prime Minister’s Office has encouraged Government officials to be as forthcoming and timely with information as possible, while respecting the security protocols required for evacuation planning. The Prime Minister is fully committed to the evacuation of all who choose to leave Lebanon and to ensuring their immediate security and safety.
Given the severity of the current situation and operations in the Middle East, I would strongly encourage you as the Editor in Chief of the Globe and Mail to not allow uninformed and false sniping from the shadows of anonymity. I strongly believe that such serious allegations require sources that are prepared to go on the record – and stand by their statements in the light of day. It is profoundly disturbing and disappointing that an institution such as the Globe and Mail would allow such a story to be printed without either naming its source or allowing the Prime Minister’s Office to comment.
The very serious allegations you printed are completely untrue and without merit. I sincerely hope in the future that the Globe and Mail takes its responsibilities to Canadians – and the truth – far more seriously than you have today.
In the interests of correcting your false and misleading story today, I am making this letter public via other members of Canada’s media.
Sincerely,
Peter G. MacKay
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Mr. Greenspon’s email address is egreenspon@globeandmail.ca .
Typical filtered, nuanced and biased MSM reporting.
I have been saying it for thirty years.
Good on you Peter MacKay!
A Peter, with balls to boot. Maybe there is hope. Good on you mate, it’s about time.
Silly Peter, the Goad and Flail isn’t about giving Canadians the news, but about giving them the ‘truth’, whether its true or not. Fake but accurate.
I see that so far 10:45 EST , neither the MopandPail or CBCpravda has bothered to report the letter.
Peter needs to send one to Pravda as well.
I stand corrected, they have the letter under one of the buttons. no fanfare for when they get a public spanking.
no coverage on CBCpravda yet though.
Todays online globe has a response stating that they stand by their source.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20060721.wevacuation21/BNStory/National/home
cal2 — start a pool to see which if either one of those two dic head organizations will mention the letter.
Since when have, CTV, CBC or the Globe & Mail ever let the facts get in the way of a good story?
That MacKay needed to take the time, precious time, from very important rescue work, to respond to this false accusation is troubling.
And he did need to do so!
The greatest threat to the unity of Canada is proving to be the usual culprits.
Sad, isn’t it…and dangerous, for where the discussion is at in the land, on citizenship.
Finally some in the media, are asking the tough questions that will be the center of debate in the months ahead.
Memebers/groups in the Lebanese community are thanking Canada. Where do we hear that at the same volume?
The goal of the government is to get these citizens our safely….That is the key word…safely.
We have no idea of the restrictions and red tape required for each step at the other end in Lebanon.
Any rescue exercise of this magnitude will be examined after the fact; for useful reasons in handling the next emergency.
For now, all else is white noise.
The MSM is on the warpath, that’s what the baseless accusation in the initial “objective” “news” “article” means.
Good on ya Pete.
WAY TO STICK TO THEM PETER!!! Good on ya!
I too have a media reaction story. I was on the Toronto Star’s website yesterday checking out the pictures of the current events. I found myself disturbed by the bias in the photos posted in their online gallery. What was particularly glaring was the photo of an injured lebanese boy along with 10 other “Arab” victim shots, dispersed among numerous pics of the Israeli army in action (in fact half the images are of the Israeli army). There was only one picture of an Israeli victim, in the process of being buried. It struck me odd that this Israeli victim shot was visually “clean” so to speak while the Arab victims shots were so brutual and disurbing. Not one “dirty” photo of innocent Jewish victims, children in particular in the whole gallery. What made the series even more vivid was how cleverly the Star had mixed the shots of Israeli “aggression” amongst the victim photos. Apparently only Israelis are violent; not one pic of a Hisbully thug even though numerous photos have been wired out of a country that has had it’s “infrastructure severely disrupted”. I felt very strongly that this whole gallery was blatantly biased (imagine that in the MSM), so I fired off a complaint to the Star’s public relations officer. See below:
T.C.
(My original email at bottom. I blanked my name and kept Heather’s in because she is paid to be a public relations officer for the Star; I am not.)
—–Original Message—–
From: Public Editor, The Toronto Star [mailto:publiced@thestar.ca]
Sent: July 20, 2006 1:25 PM
To: Terry C********
Cc: Armstrong, Heather
Subject: RE: Online Photo Gallery
Dear Mr. C********,
Thank you for your message.
You are quite right that the photographs in this gallery are primarily of the evacuation of international citizens from Lebanon, the impact of bombs on the city and civilians in Beirut and of the Israeli armed forces.
About ninety per cent of the incoming wire photographs are from Beirut or Lebanon, where bombs are falling in suburbs and it is primarily civilians who are being killed and injured. The country’s infrastructure has been severely disrupted, trapping people in the bombing zones and making it difficult to provide aid/supplies.
About 300 people have died in Lebanon and 500,000 have been displaced.
About 29 Israelis have died, including 15 civilians killed by rockets fired by Hezbollah into Israel.
The deaths, damage and the magnitude of bombardment in Lebanon are disproportionate to the damage being done by Hezbollah strikes on Israel and the photographs reflect that. I would suggest that is balance.
Yours truly,
Sharon Burnside
Public Editor
—–Original Message—–
From: Terry C********
To: Armstrong, Heather
Sent: Thu Jul 20 11:18:34 2006
Subject: Online Photo Gallery
Your lack of balance in your on-line Photo Gallery is shameful and clearly indicates the Star’s leftist preference to this most complicated Middle-East situation. Your gallery OVERWHELMINGLY depicts Israeli aggression with numerous military photos interspersed with numerous shots of Arab victims. Where the hell are your photos of the Jewish victims? Does The Star wish to propagate the perception that Arab lives are more valuable than Jewish ones, or that violence is only meted out by Israeli’s?
BALANCE, JOURNALISTIC INTEGRITY…. None apparently to be found at the Toronto Star.
Disgusted,
Terry C********,
Cambridge, Ontario
(neither Jewish, nor Muslim)
I totally agree with Peter McKay, the media should stop the deception, and start printing the truth! Let’s have some positive media stories, instead of the negative and biased false articles that are printed on a daily basis!
That MacKay needed to take the time, precious time, from very important rescue work, to respond to this false accusation is troubling.
Not to worry; ministers almost never actually write the correspondance issued in their name. That’s for advisors and line officers to do.
Yes, the letter is on the G&M website. AND, in another article, Greenspon is ‘standing by’, not his PM and the work of the gov’t in getting these people out, but his ‘anonymous source’.
I wrote Greenspon, and suggest many more of us write him, with ccs to various gov’t people – that he and the rest of the MSM have transformed this event into a political arena of ‘Bashing Harper’. Instead of finding, validating and reporting the news, the factual not fictional news, they have moved into political agendas.
One source, anonymous, provides no validity to any story. The Globe’s refusal to validate that data with the PM’s office, means that their data and interpretation is completely unreliable.
I also asked why they weren’t researching and reporting on some very serious issues; namely, the fact that Canada has more citizens in Lebanon, more than any other country in the world – and the majority are not visitors but permanent residents. Have they ever even lived in Canada, worked in Canada, paid taxes in Canada?
Why is the Canadian taxpayer obliged to foot the enormous bill (and it will be enormous) to bring them out, and house and feed them (since they don’t live in Canada)? Note also, that Ontario has waived the three month wait period for OHIP; their medical needs are instantly covered. Even though they may not have lived in Canada for decades. Or ever.
What is wrong with out immigration system as set up by the Liberals? Was this a vote-buying scheme?
These are serious questions that have nothing to do with humanitarian agendas, but a great deal to do with the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. Should someone who has never lived in Canada for any appeciable time, if ever; has no intention of living in Canada, has a citizenship with another country and lives there – should this person expect the Canadian taxpayer to foot the bill for their rescue and housekeeping?…until they return to Lebanon?
Good on Peter. The time for them to speak up and fight back is now. As I browse the news media websites in Canada, there are polls, commentaries and editorials popping up that are beginning to ask the same questions that we have been discussing over the past week or so. CKOM has a poll on their website for example that gives 4 options.
Should the federal government foot the entire bill for the evacuation of Canadians from southern Lebanon?
Yes. They are citizens.
1.59%
No. They can pay their own way.
18.25%
Only if you have a permanent address in Canada.
62.70%
Ottawa should only pay for the ships. Evacuees should pay their own airfare.
17.46%
Public opinion is changing rapidly despite their best efforts.
Well said ET! Good for you Peter McKay! The coverage of this has been pathetic to say the least. CTV and CBC have put every negative person that they can find on TV. They showed one lady who was fleeing from Lebanon with her children for their safety. Next breath she said “When they grow up I will send them back to fight Israel.” Words that should never come out of any decent mother’s mouth. I sure hope that this is not one of the people we are paying for. Priority for the evacuaction should have been for Canadian’s that were there on holiday’s or visiting family. Vote buying??? This just stinks! Look at what has happened to all of the large cities, where the majority of the seats are held. Where were the immigrants sent to locate? We have some serious problems ahead…
Here’s a story about the Iran Hostage crisis in 1979 and the difference between the media’s ability to keep a secret then and now.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/20/AR2006072001632.html
I don’t suppose I have to mention the difference in this story that would most likely have been the most important? That being the US pres at the time was DEMOCRAT uber-lefty Peanut Jimmy Carter?
This kind of reporting is the reason why I cancelled my subscription to the Globe and Mail.
three cheers for peter…
i doubt the other MSM will make reference to the letter as it was directed to the mop and pail specifically.
Canada’s next prime minister! (P-Mack, not Greenspon.)
“Not to worry; ministers almost never actually write the correspondance issued in their name. That’s for advisors and line officers to do.”
Anything signed in MacKay’s name, would have been approved and considered by him.
All written material, signed especially, is fodder for the opposition and media. No one knows that better than a politician.
YAHOO! – FINALLY AN APPROPRIATE RESPONSE! I have been gritting my teeth, as the daily parade of snide and smirking print and TV journalists make their petty little drive by smears. I’m lovin this response – hope it gets mega play
Greetings:
May I start a bit of a wee bit of amovement here?
How about calling for a full-blown government investigation of this entire incident? One that is irrevocable, regarless of possible future changes in government. The hearing should be required to investigate
1.) Canada’s level of preparedness, both at home and in far-flung embassies (where we understand that full-biligualism requirements are certainly heavily monitored), for various emergencies.
2.) Immediate, or prompt availabilty of qualified emergency personnel, fully capable of appropriate, safe and expeditious handling of all facets of various emergency response situations.
3.) Availability of, and/or access to, appropriate government assets (physical and personnel) which would be available for rapid deployment of E.M.O. units.
4.) Full examination of information dissemination, during the crisis period. Examine methods, techniques, sources and accuracy of all proceedings. Examine the appropriateness, degree and level of media output, positive or negative, in contributing to the emergency effort.
5.) Isolate and identify any areas of possible shortcomings. Identify nature and reasons of these hinderances. Identify causes of these failures.
6.) Provide a blueprint for future applications. Make public a full report. Name names. Levy penaties where needed.
7.) ….
8.) …..
etc etc……..
Last night, they were reporting that “about” 63 (about?) evacuees had boarded the PM’s plane. This morning CTV is reporting that “about” 100 evacuees landed in Ottawa on that flight. Is one to assume that there were “about” 37 births during the flight home? The Canadian MSM is totally without credibility.
And the Ontario gov’t is also waiving eligibility requirements for welfare – oops, I mean “social assistance” for those who need it as well as putting those without residences up in hotels near the airport. McGuilty vote buying?
TangoJuliette,
After every disaster or setback there is always navel-gazing and hindsight quarterbacks calling for the government to spend vast sums on studies and inquiries to tell us the fricken obvious.
The obvious is that when S*** happens, S*** happens. Period. In no instance (including Katrina and the tsunami) have western governments failed. The same can’t be said of the UN or the media.
Why can’t we just realize that the more chaotic a situation, the longer it will take to sort it out regardless of the level of preparedness? If people think that the government has done a bad job they need to better utilize their grey matter cause they’re not being even remotely realistic. This is an emergency evac, not a pre-planed, all-inclusive cruise. We’re talking a total logistical nightmare. Given the task, the governments (our and others) are doing very well. To not recognize this is to have a fantasy-land level of expectation of the possible. An inquiry is not necessary to tell you that Scotty can’t just beam 50 thousand people to the Enterprise – and in first-class comfort!
Also note that the media is driving this. There is no real story. The media is scum and is throwing muck in the hope it sticks to a PM they don’t like. The same thing is happening elsewhere.
I love this line:
“no effort whatsoever to contact the Prime Minister’s Office to verify the accuracy of the claim”
You mean, like ask a question at one of those “old style” press conference thingies that got cancelled or like a scrum when you sort of make yourself available for questions that also is not done anymore?
I thought all the government needed was press releases, the regional press and dealing “directly with the people”. I thought the press gallery was irrelevant. Were conservatives wrong about that?
When you refuse to answer questions or make yourself available to answer questions on a regular basis, why bother going through the headache of being ignored again?
Ted
Cerberus
Mop and Pail receives ‘letter bomb’ from Foreign Minister. Editorial board scrambles for cover.
Large vacuum is exposed in Mop and Pail editorial board. The editors are lost in a black hole of baseless allegations.
Note to Mop & Pail the election is over, you will have to wait for the next one.
Peter delivers ‘ass whipping’ to the editorial board in conformity with Canadian Foundation for Children, Youth and the Law v. Canada (Attorney General), [2004] 1 S.C.R. 76, 2004 SCC 4
A maple switch in full view of the woodshed!
Well done Peter.
“Note to Mop & Pail the election is over, you will have to wait for the next one.”
For what? To endorse him yet again?
Bloody conservative-biased media.
Ted
Cerberus
Nice try, cerberus, but your claim is completely invalid.
The Press Gang Club mode of ‘you get to ask a question of the PM, only at the Parliament ‘scrum’ and if and only if the President of the Press Gang Club permits you to ask a question’ isn’t the only way to ask a question of the PM’s office. I bet you didn’t know that.
You, the reporter, can actually phone, fax, email the PM’s office. All by yourself.
Much more efficient than asking the President of the Press Gang if you can ask your question. Oh, and since it’s summer, and parliament isn’t in session, then, gosh, it’s slightly difficult to even get a ‘scrum’ together, isn’t it? Oh well.
But, did you know that there’s no limitation on interviews, question and answers with the PM or Ministers? There’s no confinement of interviews, questions and answers to the Press Gang ‘scrum’. We have open communication now.
You, the reporter, can get a personal interview with the PM and with Ministers, and many have. Did you know that? You can get immediate answers to your faxed questions, your emailed questions, your telephoned questions.
So- try to get your facts straight. It’s called accountability.
That’s a little bit over the top ET. Even for you.
Anyone can get an interview, eh? First, how long do you suppose it would take to arrange an interview for a story that is going out the next day on a current topic? Second, do you really honestly believe that the Harper communications people are going to let just any reporter interview him or every single reporter interview him that wants? Press conferences were set up so that the leader and the staff don’t spend all their time answering the same questions all day long. Surely even you realize that.
But more to the point, the PMO doesn’t respond to inquiries. It’s a plain fact. Paul Wells – who has been extremely friendly to the Harper government and extremely critical of his press gallery colleagues – has pointed this out a number of times. Check out his blog or search his columns at Macleans.ca. It’s even worse trying to get a comment from a Minister’s office because they have to then go back to the PMO.
Any communications problems they have will be of their own making.
Ted
Cerberus
lawyers like greenspon are utterly permanently disinterested in the true unless it dovetails with their agenda.
every, E-V-E-R-Y media story I have EVER been personally involved in or have 1st or 2nd hand knowledge of, the reporters always without exception missed the mark, got it wrong. every time, a total of about 5 or 6 times.
“You mean, like ask a question at one of those “old style” press conference thingies that got cancelled or like a scrum when you sort of make yourself available for questions that also is not done anymore?
I thought all the government needed was press releases, the regional press and dealing “directly with the people”. I thought the press gallery was irrelevant. Were conservatives wrong about that?
When you refuse to answer questions or make yourself available to answer questions on a regular basis, why bother going through the headache of being ignored again?
Ted
Cerberus”
cheap shot Ted, tres stupid, but then you are a LPC sycophant . . .
ever heard of a thing called a telephone ??
A whole lot faster than waiting for a press conference.
Warwick:
I imagine that an inquiry would lay bare a lot of Liberal rot and corruption, as well as misappropration of funds with some abuse of power thrown in.
Gutting the military, ignoring the navy and airforce, patronage appointments to various consular and ambassadorial postings.
You can be damned sure that everyone who works in the upper echelons of our civil sevice sure as hell better be fluently bilingual.
Can you do the job? That’s not the question.
Who do you know, and can you speak both official languages? Now that’s a criteria worth using as a bench-mark.
Whose making cheap shots?
The government refuses to answer questions that are not on its immediate agenda, cancels press conferences, conducts on selective interviews, requires all communications from any ministry including experienced senior cabinet ministers (with Flaherty and Toews being an exception), don’t return calls or faxes with questions that are not on your immediate PMO set agenda (as documented by Paul Wells)… and then you whine that the press prints a story without your PMO approved response.
Come on. Sleep in the bed you made folks.
Ted
Cerberus
“Who’s”. Duh.
Ted
I have an “anonomous source” within the upper management echelon of the G&M who has told me that there is an orchestrated campaign, headed by Greenspon, to drag out the suffering of Canadian citizens to sell papers. Apparently, they are leasing all the cruise ships in the area AND SENDING THEM AWAY EMPTY.
My friend wouldn’t lie to me…
Actually Ted Paul Wells has said quite the opposite, that he has had no trouble with communicating with the Conservative government despite the best efforts of the NPG to propagandize to the contrary.
As for the Globe or the Post supporting the
Conservatives in the last election, this only happened after it became clear that Harper and the Conservatives were well on their way to victory and that the scandal a day Martin Liberals were in meltdown mode.
Offering their support so late in the game served only one purpose – to allow lefties to claim that the Conservative victory was due to media support.
Oh, I get it Ward. If a mainstream media actually supports the conservatives then it is common sense, but if they don’t support the conservatives or tow the party line, let alone be critical, then it is all part of The Vast Leftwing Media Conspiracy!!!
Read the editorials in the Globe since the Cons came to power. Easily half of them support actions taken by this government. They post Conservative press releases as news (eg. the announcement today that the Cons still don’t have an environmental plan but will someday). They ignore blatant lies and flip flops (eg. the quiet dropping of the most important of The Five Priorities (TM) as a priority of the government: canadiancerberus.blogspot.com/2006/07/promise-what-promise-harpers-hide). They broke the bloody Adscam story!
Oh, yeah, there’s a Liberal-biased newspaper for you.
We Liberals could sure use some of that kind of Conservative-biased media right about now!
Ted
Ted,
My problem isn’t that the story was run without the PM’s blessing (as it isn’t the press’ job to get it.)
My problem is the story was total garbage. If the media would have fact-checked it, no response from the PM’s office would be necessary as the story would be in a shredder in G&M’s recycle bin.
Greenspon has ruined the G&M. It was once a very well-respected paper who could be counted on to report the stories straight. That changed with Greenspon. Now its a lying partisan rag to whom facts are as important as they are to the NYT and Dan Rather.
I actually met Greenspon once. He’s an intolerably smug, arrogant little (about 5’2″) weasel. He’s the worst sort of media lefty. He is also a personal friend of Paul Martin and other Liberals/liberals.
I think Peter Mackay has matured as a man & politician. That be has picked up a pair is obvious. I like the fact Him & Harper are not afraid to take them out once in a while.
I will use the obverse of the saying “Bad company corrupts good morals” . In this case its “Good company reinforces good morals.”
Our MSM is an utter disgrace with few exceptions. For political goodies they would sell us all out, to an unmerciful enemy. There socialist Utopia has no room for rationality, or factors in human weakness. To that end there are doomed to a stasis, that will only melt into oblivion.
As an aside to the Spain article . In some weird , convoluted way. Brian Tobin was right about them. In any case Spain has just surrendered to a re-occupation in reverse. I pity them all. Until I remember this is what they voted for. Now live with it!!!
It took 300 years to recover from there last Jewish expulsion . They are a dead people , with a dying culture. The sad fact is, they participated out of fear & cringing. In there own demise as a people & society.
I pray Canada never falls victim to this weasel, weakling philosophy of the Socialists.
What’s left of Spain ‘s memory will find no tears.
Harper allows me to lift my head a ee bit higher these days. Stay the course Mr. PM. We need it bad. Forget the gadflys.
It will be interesting on the debate as some have alluded to. On immigration that is sure to follow when PMSH returns.
Even the press can’t keep a story hidden anymore, let alone governments. So they had better be prepared.
Where hell is the Ditherer in all this…the guy with world wide contacts…the guy who can lift a finger and have more ships on the way than the Spanish Armada? Yup…Paul Martin….the ultimate citizen of convenience.
Where are his Canadian-shared-values when we need them?
Mr. “Caring” is nowhere to be found….why hasn’t the MSM and the lib. party nailed his sorry
carcass to the foc’sle for not being the FIRST to offer help if what the gov’t is doing is not enough?
Why hasn’t he offered in good faith at a time when politics is not the issue?
Hint….he doesn’t get it & the press & libs don’t get it.
They are playing silly kids games while the adults are acting.
This is an example of double standards writ large.
Anything signed in MacKay’s name, would have been approved and considered by him.
Of course, but your original message seemed to indicate you thought he took the time to compose the letter himself, instead of just reviewing and approving it.
But anyway, no matter; it’s good to see inaccurate reporters and editors get bluntly taken to school by such a high level official.
During the last election, stolen money was literally falling out of the liberano$$$ pockets as they were filmed by security cameras running from the crime scene where they left their DNA and prints.
Even the exalted glob and pale can only lead sleepy, trusting, overworked and overtaxed Canadians down that rat infested dark ally to be beaten and robbed so many times.
“F” the MSM they are not only derelect in their duty to freedom and democracy, they are complicit in the fleecing of Canada.
It’s criminal.
(More so than my spelling.)
Good for you pete no if only you could stop being a social wanker I’d vote for you as the next PM.
The MSMs deserve blogs,
Ted (Cereberus): I wish to refute what you wrote in the last paragraph of your first comment: “When you refuse to answer questions or make yourself available to answer questions on a regular basis…”.
The government did not refuse to answer questions…the PPG refused to submit questions.
The government did not refuse to make themselves available…the PPG refused to submit questions and, given the apparent lack of interest from the PPG, the press conferences were cancelled.
This is NOT about the government refusing to talk, it is all about the PPG refusing to listen.
Plus, as ET pointed out, there are no scrums when parliament isn’t in session.
Further, I’m supremely confident that if Mr. Greenspon (or his designate) were to have phoned the PMO and said “We are planning to run this story…do you have any comments?”, the PMO would have either responded OR they wouldn’t have chastised Greenspon in the letter. THAT, sir, is the express intent of and clear statement in the letter.
Respectfully, I believe you are being purposefully dense on this issue.
Y’all may be interested to know that today’s Globe and Mail editorial was unabashedly in favour of Prime Minister Harper’s actions, and the letters to the editor they selected were vastly on our side. All I’m sayin’ is, if your antecedents are wrong, then your consequents are irrelevant, even if your argument is otherwise logically sound.
Ha! What do you expect from the conservative-biased media!
Vitruvius,
Yes, and they only balanced their pro-Harper article with a lopsided set of letters and columns against Israel by Salutin, Herzog and Simpson.
Your embarrassing yourself Ted.
The Gay & Mail has been a useless piece of crap for a good 2 decades. It was William Thorsell who ruined what was once a fine paper by sacrificing objectivity for ideology – so that he could push his “gay agenda” with touchy-feely emotional left-wing sentimentalities in lieu of hard factual news reporting.
You have repeatedly mentioned how the globe “broke” the adscam story. Funny that you fail to mention that they subsequently endorsed the Liberals in the 2004 election and helped paint the “scary Stephen Harper” picture. Yeah, real balanced.
If you think what Thorsell has done to the G&M is bad (and I still blame Greenspon for it myself,) have you seen the atrocity he’s committing on the ROM?