Pierre Poilievre laughed off and dismissed a Liberal cabinet minister’s assertion that he was attacking democracy when he recently pushed back on a reporter’s question. The Conservative leader also pointed out the hypocrisy of the statement, given Rebel News reporter David Menzies’ recent arrest while questioning Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland.
Poilievre laughs off a question about Heritage Minister Pascal St-Onge accusing him of “an attack on democracy” after pushing back against a reporter.
“Her government arrested a reporter,” he says, referring to the arrest of Rebel News’ David Menzies.https://t.co/HusmT5DsD4 pic.twitter.com/557Eha0ArW
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) February 15, 2024
“Her government arrested a reporter,” Poilievre said, responding to a question from an Epoch Times journalist who asked about comments made by Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge on February 12.
“When you’re a politician you need to answer questions,” St-Onge said on Tuesday. “And when you’re attacking the press, when you’re attacking our free press, you’re also attacking democracy. It’s unworthy of a leader.”
Heritage Minister Pascal St-Onge says Pierre Poilievre calling a Canadian Press reporter a “mouthpiece for the PMO” was “an attack on democracy.”https://t.co/vD78U4ZuZQ pic.twitter.com/vf2AZ82oDC
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) February 13, 2024
Firing back on Thursday, Poilievre pointed out the hypocrisy in the minister’s remarks, referring to the January 8 arrest of Rebel News reporter David Menzies as he attempted to ask Freeland about the Liberals’ reluctance to place Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on Canada’s terror list.
After putting two questions to Freeland, her RCMP security detail then shoved Menzies into a wall with a wide-eyed officer, Greg Dumouchel, who then yelled that Menzies was under arrest before he and another officer attempted to gaslight Menzies over an alleged assault.
Days later, Freeland was asked about the incident at a press conference where she delivered no sympathy or remorse for what happened, providing a clear contrast between the Liberals’ selective moral outrage over how journalists are treated.
BREAKING: Deputy PM Chrystia Freeland comments on arrest of Rebel News reporter David Menzies as he asked her questions on Monday:
“Operational decisions about law enforcement are taken by the police…and that’s why I don’t have any further comment.”https://t.co/HusmT5DsD4 pic.twitter.com/J1TFeLUV15
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) January 11, 2024
“Operational decisions about law enforcement are taken by the police… and that’s why I don’t have any further comment,” Freeland said after a minute of monologue.
The Conservative leader emphasized that should he become prime minister, he wasn’t “going to arrest any reporters.”
