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Spencer Mckay

@spencermckay.com

983 followers 212 following 44 posts

Democratic theorist, giant lobster enthusiast, former public servant

Spencer Mckay @spencermckay.com · 17/04/2025

I suspect the Commission is twice bitten, third time shy. The Commission refused to accredit Rebel in both 2019 and 2021 and both times Rebel got an injunction. The Commission wrote it up a bit here: www.debates-debats.ca/en/report-20... . As for 2025, Justin Ling wrote it up in the Star:

Newspaper article text: A hallmark of the leaders’ debates are the free-for-all post-debate scrums. They are egalitarian exercises, where parties hold no control over which journalists get to ask questions.
In past years, fringe outlets like Rebel News have protested being excluded from the debate facilities and, thus, the post-debate scrums. Things have really changes this year. The debate commission had tried to limit news outlets to sending just a single reporter each into the post-debate scrums — this year, that includes Rebel. But, according to Rebel News founded Ezra Levant (who is also conducting conspiratorial anti-Liberal advertising across the country) that wasn’t good enough. Levant says they are sending 16 people to the debates and they demanded access to the scrums for all 16, even threatening to sue. Levant, yesterday, announced they won. “They wrote back to us, at the last minute, calling off our lawsuit, by agreeing to allow not one, not two, not three, not four, but five Rebels to ask questions.”
The debate commission responded to me this morning, confirming the news: “Rebel News’ legal representation has identified to the Commission that Rebel News has five distinct divisions.” As such, the conspiratorial right-wing fringe outlet gets five spots, while everyone else just gets one.
The debate commission seems to be trying to maximize how many chaotic and inexplicable decisions it can make at the last possible minute, raising the question: Why do we have a debate commission, anyway?

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Spencer Mckay @spencermckay.com · 17/04/2025

The Commission refused to accredit them in both 2019 and 2021 and both times Rebel got an injunction. The Commission wrote it up a bit here: www.debates-debats.ca/en/report-20... . As for 2025, Justin Ling wrote it up in the Star:

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Spencer Mckay @spencermckay.com · 17/04/2025

From www.thestar.com/politics/fed...

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Spencer Mckay @spencermckay.com · 14/03/2025

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Spencer Mckay @spencermckay.com · 26/02/2025

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