How a cross-border CBC program sparked intense anger before it aired
Hundreds complain before Cross Country Checkup’s broadcast on Trump’s annexation threats
We use this editor's blog to explain our journalism and what's happening at CBC News. You can find more blogs here.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"Have you lost your f--king mind?"
These were two messages among a few hundred we received over the weekend in advance of a special cross-border edition of Cross Country Checkup.
Our long-running Sunday national call-in show hosted by Ian Hanomansing is not normally a flashpoint of controversy, though it has certainly tackled difficult and divisive topics in the past, giving a voice to a wide range of perspectives from regular Canadians from across the country.
But this special edition, which was co-hosted by Jeremy Hobson and simulcast on NPR stations and C-SPAN across the U.S., was an outrage for many people — in Canada at least — before a single word had been spoken on air.
What prompted the anger (and, in a few cases, startling claims CBC was engaged in "treason," "sedition" and "betrayal") were two things: the program's title and the proposed question to the audience.
The program title, "51st State: A Cross-Border Conversation," angered a number of people who felt it legitimized the idea of annexation of Canada by the United States. Some called it clickbait; others felt it suggested CBC was "platforming" U.S. President Donald Trump's repeated and hostile mocking of Canadian sovereignty as a legitimate policy proposal worthy of debate and consideration.
That's not at all what was intended. As regular listeners to Cross Country Checkup know, the program asks its listeners to respond to newsy topics and questions. And they do, often with great passion and personal stories that shed new light on the news of the day and how it impacts regular people who don't often get a microphone.
The producers of Sunday's show not only wanted to surface the great swell of upset and changing views about the United States that have washed over Canada in the weeks since the new administration began threatening Canada with tariffs and takeover, they also wanted to open a channel to regular Americans so people on both sides of the border could hear from each other without politicians in the mix.
The way the original question to the audience was framed — "What does Canada as the 51st state mean to you?" — also upset a number of CBC fans who viewed it as legitimizing an idea anathema to the vast majority of Canadians. Again, this was not the producers' intent. They quickly adjusted and changed the question to: "What do you think of Trump's comments about Canada becoming the 51st state?"
There are important lessons in all of this about the precision of language, the framing of questions and the challenges of conveying complex ideas when you have only a few words to use in a program title or description. There are also lessons about how good intent can be derailed by word choice.
The flood of heated complaints by people who had not yet heard the program is also an interesting litmus test of the state of our nation: many Canadians are apparently so fed up by Trump's 51st state rhetoric, they will no longer tolerate it and greatly fear it being given a serious airing.
As for the program itself, the producers and I believe it was an entirely worthwhile exercise. They opened the show by addressing the controversy head-on. As Hanomansing said, "There's no question that the original show question … struck a nerve. It was never our intent to normalize the idea that Canada would ever become the 51st state."
"We are very careful about how we do a program like this. We are not in any way endorsing what Trump has been saying," he said. "The whole point of our show … is to hear what those of you who are listening and watching have to [say]. This is a place where people can speak out on issues where politicians up until now have been doing most of the talking."
And the program did just that. It surfaced all of these views and difficult emotions, allowing Canadians and Americans to hear from each other at a pivotal, historic moment in our relationship. Said one caller from Salt Lake City, "Thanks for having the show. I find it really interesting to hear from Canadians."
I encourage you to listen and/or watch — and then make up your own mind:
LISTEN | Cross Country Checkup
WATCH ON YOUTUBE | Your thoughts on Trump's 'Canada as the 51st state' comments | Cross Country Checkup
Veteran Quebec TV exec Marie-Philippe Bouchard named new CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada
Bouchard will begin 5-year term in January
A seasoned Quebec television executive says she's up for the "challenge" of keeping CBC/Radio-Canada relevant after being appointed its next president and CEO.
Marie-Philippe Bouchard says she looks forward to "charting the path forward" at Canada's public broadcaster, which is still grappling with controversy over executive bonuses doled out amid layoffs under outgoing boss Catherine Tait.
In announcing the appointment Tuesday, Heritage Canada said Bouchard will be the first francophone woman to head CBC/Radio-Canada when she begins a five-year term on Jan. 3, 2025.
Bouchard said she considers "public service media" around the world to be "a precious public asset."
"As society changes at a fast pace, so must our public broadcaster, continuing to build trust in order to remain relevant to all Canadians," Bouchard said in a media statement.
In a statement, Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge touted Bouchard as "a talented, strong public broadcasting leader with a proven record of transformation."
Bouchard has been president and CEO of TV5 Quebec Canada since 2016 and previously worked in various management positions at the CBC in legal services, strategic planning and regulatory affairs, digital services and music.
Bouchard replaces Tait, who has been president of the CBC since 2018 and continues to draw fire over executive bonuses and the broader challenges of restoring public trust in the broadcaster.
At a hearing of the Commons heritage committee on Monday, Tait defended spending more than $18 million in performance-based pay to staff this year, despite laying off 141 employees and eliminating 205 vacant positions amid a budget shortfall.
Tait said she believes members of the parliamentary Heritage committee have been using her appearances to "vilify" and "discredit" both her and the public broadcaster.
She pushed back against Conservative demands to forgo a financial exit package, including bonuses, when she steps down in January.
Bouchard was part of a committee St-Onge set up last May to modernize the mandate of CBC/Radio-Canada, which employs more than 7,000 people from "a multitude of backgrounds and cultures," according to its latest annual report.
The findings of that review have not been released yet.
Like many broadcasters, the CBC has been struggling with declining ad revenue and shrinking audiences as digital platforms increasingly dominate the media landscape.
Its 2023-2024 annual report said trends over the last decade indicate that its traditional TV and radio audiences will "continue to erode as younger Canadians embrace digital technologies."
St. Onge said she's confident Bouchard will "provide a steady hand" for the CBC in "a critical time of modernization."
Heritage minister pitches CBC/Radio-Canada overhaul and a major funding hike
Pascale St-Onge says a CBC funding boost will protect Canada's cultural 'sovereignty'
Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge announced Thursday a plan to overhaul CBC/Radio-Canada to shore up an institution she said is "at a critical crossroads" but one that is necessary as the country faces American threats to its sovereignty.
While pitching a program that is unlikely to be enacted by the current government given the likelihood of a federal election sometime soon, St-Onge said American "billionaire tech oligarchs" are tightening their grip on the flow of information and Canada needs to revive its nearly century-old public broadcaster to "tell our own stories," saying it's a "national security issue" that so much of what Canadians consume is generated elsewhere.
"More than ever it's important to rely on our own sources of information — made by and for Canadians," she said.
"CBC will never be controlled by Musk or Zuckerberg. It will never belong to billionaire tech oligarchs. It will always belong to the people of Canada," she said, referencing Elon Musk, the owner of social media platform X and Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.
"It's not a Liberal or a Conservative issue. It's a commitment to ourselves, our culture and our independence," she added, saying the CBC was first formed in 1936 to give Canadians a homegrown source for news and entertainment when much of that content was American.
To improve the quality of the corporation's programming in both English and French, boost the availability of "trustworthy, local and impartial news" and make the broadcaster a more reliable source of information during emergencies, St-Onge is pitching a funding increase that could nearly double its yearly appropriation.
She said per capita funding for CBC/Radio-Canada is about $33.66, the second lowest in the developed world ahead of only the U.S.
That funding level has been roughly the same for years and has not been meaningfully adjusted for inflation, St-Onge said.
The minister said the public broadcaster's parliamentary appropriation should be closer to the $62.20 per capita funding average of the other G7 countries.
She said the exact level of funding will be determined by a future prime minister or finance minister, but proposed it should rise over time as the broadcaster's mandate evolves.
The minister said, citing government research, there is a direct link between a public broadcaster's level of funding and its performance — suggesting a cash infusion would bring more eyeballs to the broadcaster's content, boosting market share and citizens' trust.
In addition to an appropriation hike, St-Onge is proposing to take the public broadcaster's funding out of the normal budgetary process, which is subject to the political whims of the day, and embed the funding formula in a separate act of Parliament so that the money is preset based on population levels.
St-Onge said that would offer the broadcaster "stable and predictable funding," and reduce the risk of political tinkering.
That
funding level for CBC/Radio-Canada has been roughly the same for years
and has not been meaningfully adjusted for inflation, the heritage
minister said. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has long promised to defund CBC but keep its French-language service, Radio-Canada. He has said there's no need for English-language content because other broadcasters can fill the void, pointing to conventional TV ratings that show CBC is a laggard.
It's a message he delivered again Thursday in Toronto when asked about the minister's proposal.
"We're going to cut wasteful spending, not just there but across the government to bring down inflation, deficits and taxes," he said.
St-Onge, who has not endorsed a Liberal leadership candidate in the race to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, said she expects the people vying for the top job to take on some of these proposals. She said she would back the candidate who has the best plan to build up the CBC.
CBC/Radio-Canada received about $1.4 billion in funding from the government last year, according to the company's annual report.
If a future government were to boost funding to the G7 average, as St-Onge is proposing, the corporation's funding could rise to about $2.5 billion a year.
In return, St-Onge wants to make more of what CBC/Radio-Canada offers ad-free and fee-free so that "Canadians don't have to pay twice," she said.
The corporation's English streaming service, Gem, offers a premium, commercial-free option for a fee. CBC's podcast division also sometimes charges a fee for early access to some of its programs.
St-Onge said, in exchange for a boost in funding, she will require there be no ads around news, public affairs and "information" programming — on TV, radio or online.
St-Onge said making the CBC ad-free would give other embattled news outlets a leg-up because those ad dollars would flow from the Crown corporation to commercial broadcasters, newspapers, other streaming platforms, podcasters and the like. CBC Radio is already ad-free.
If the government does away with ads around news, CBC would lose a portion of the revenue it generates on its own. The company earned about $493.5 million last year, largely from TV advertising and subscriber fees from cable channels like CBC News Network.
The minister also wants the corporation to be more responsive to what Canadians want out of their public broadcaster and she's pitching amendments to the Broadcasting Act, which governs the corporation, to force CBC to do more public consultations "on issues related to its priorities and strategies."
That would bring the broadcaster "closer to the people," and address frequent claims CBC is "not receptive to hearing different points of view."
St-Onge is also proposing governance reform to tamp down accusations that the broadcaster is somehow controlled by the political party in power.
Instead of the federal cabinet directly appointing the broadcaster's CEO, St-Onge is proposing the CBC's board of directors pick the person to lead the corporation to insulate them from claims they are doing the government's bidding.
After facing pointed criticism over the corporation's decision to hand out management bonuses while also announcing a plan to cut workers, St-Onge said the CEO's salary should be set by the board, not by a cabinet order-in-council, as it is now.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said the Liberal government had nine years to reform the CBC and give it more money, and it didn't get it done.
"I can't imagine more last minute than potentially weeks before an election. But, if they're serious, if they actually want to do something, call Parliament back," he said.
Is the NDP in trouble? Party faces an uphill battle if snap election is called
Favourability moving in the wrong direction while election could be weeks away
The 2025 federal election seemed to have all the makings of a breakthrough for Canada's New Democratic Party.
Polling shows voters want change. The Liberal Party is leaderless. Plus, those vying to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have promised policies that would move the party back to the political centre, leaving the NDP to pursue progressive policies like taxing the wealthy.
But at this point, at least, many things don't seem to be working in their favour.
"The NDP, federally, is in really bad shape," said Rob Ashton, a British Columbia labour leader who is part of the broader union movement that traditionally backs New Democrats nationwide.
"It's pretty bad when workers of this country start running towards the Conservative Party."
Time is not on the New Democrats' side. In a recent memo to candidates, party headquarters warned that they should be ready for a snap election as early as March 10.
Double trouble
But weeks before a possible spring election, New Democrats are in double trouble. The party's polling average is at its lowest level since June 2020, and NDP leader Jagmeet Singh's unfavourability rating is growing.
According to CBC's Poll Tracker, the NDP sits at a new low, below 16 per cent, falling farther behind the Conservatives and Liberals in a distant third place.
The poll tracker compiles and averages publicly available opinion polls of decided and leaning voters. The polls are weighted by respondents' age and sample size, as well as by the polling firm's track record and past performance.
According to David Coletto, the founder and CEO of Abacus Data, some of the NDP's support has gone to the Conservatives.
"I think Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives have been working to welcome them into the party, and I think so far it's been working," Coletto said.
But he said the NDP is also hurting from excitement around Mark Carney, the perceived front-runner in the Liberal leadership race.
Like all parties, Coletto said, U.S. President Donald Trump and his threat of tariffs have upended the NDP's political strategy. Voters, he said, are consolidating around the Conservatives or the Liberals "in a time of crisis."
Singh's favourability rating also works against the NDP. Polling institute Angus Reid conducted an online survey during the second week of February, using a random sample of more than 2000 Canadians with a margin of error of +/-1.5 percentage points 19 times out of 20.
It found that Singh had the lowest net favourability score among party leaders and Liberal leadership candidates, especially from middle-aged and older men.
"So if you are Jagmeet Singh, none of this is good news," said Shachi Kurl, president of the Angus Reid Institute. "It truly represents a white-knuckle moment for the NDP and for the leader."
Singh answered questions about his party's polling fortunes and the growth in support for the Liberals on Tuesday.
"We've seen this before any leadership race. There's a bump for the party, particularly when the leadership race involves determining who the current Prime Minister will be," Singh said.
"But there'll be an important election, and campaigns matter."
The NDP says fundamentally, they'll be asking voters if their lives are any better after nine years of Liberal government.
Anti-Singh ads
The party has also struggled to define Singh and promote its achievements as a party with fourth-party status, said Brad Lavigne, the NDP's national campaign manager during the 2011 federal election.
He said one reason voters may be falling out of favour with Singh is because they have seen the onslaught of negative ads Conservatives have targeted at Singh.
Singh
has allowed himself to be defined by the Conservative Party's attacks,
says a campaign manager who worked with the party before Singh became
leader. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press)
Conservatives have accused the NDP of blocking their attempts to vote non-confidence in the Liberal government because Singh wanted to qualify for his MP pension (even though Poilievre's is three times larger) before Canadians go to the polls.
"They get to dictate the terms of the political discourse because they have the money to advertise," Lavigne said of the Conservatives.
"So where is the NDP's money to advertise, to either counter the Conservatives' offer or to set the terms of the political conversation themselves?"
In 2024, the NDP raised $6.2 million, less than half the Liberals' total and dwarfed by the $41.7 million the Conservatives raised.
"That's a new level of political campaigning that the NDP needs to rise to," said Lavigne. "It can't be satisfied with merely getting its message out through a handful of email lists or legacy media."
Lavigne said that the NDP may have grown complacent after spending the last couple of years governing with the Liberals through the supply-and-confidence agreement. That agreement assured New Democrats their priorities would be advanced, including in dental care, pharmacare and anti-replacement worker legislation.
On Friday, the NDP announced it had released "its first pre-election TV ad." The 30-second spot features Singh in a boxing ring.
Drifting away from its labour socialist roots?
Not all unions are unhappy with the NDP. The United Steelworkers backed the party's plan for "mandating the use of Canadian steel" in all federally funded infrastructure projects.
But others say the NDP needs to return to its roots and target working-class Canadians.
"I know a lot of my members don't trust them anymore," said Ashton, the national president of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union in B.C.
Ashton said New Democrats repeatedly voted confidence in the Liberals while they imposed binding arbitration on unionized workers — which workers see as the equivalent of legislating striking workers back to work.
Many of these votes where required under the supply-and-confidence deal.
Singh
attends a rally with locked out International Longshore and Warehouse
Union Local 514 port workers in Vancouver. Some in the labour movement
say the party has strayed from its roots under Singh's watch. (Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press)
Ashton said the NDP has wandered away from its base in favour of messaging with broad political appeal.
He pointed to the party focusing on the cost of groceries instead of improving wages or protecting jobs from automation.
"What are we doing to increase wages? What is the NDP doing to protect jobs?" Ashton said.
Ashton said unionized workers need a more aggressive NDP leader who isn't afraid to vote against the governing party if they advance anti-worker policies.
Canadian politics content creator Steve Boutilier (Steve Boots) describes himself as "fairly left of centre," but he is also disillusioned with the NDP.
Boutilier, a Regina-based political YouTuber and podcaster, recently posted a video titled Jagmeet Singh Has Failed.
"It's just a tremendous sense of frustration with Jagmeet Singh's failure to meet the moment," Boutilier said in an interview with CBC News. "He is as well positioned as an NDP leader could imaginably be."
From: Alexi Wood <alexi.wood@stlbarristers.ca>
Date: Thu, Feb 6, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Subject: Automatic reply: RE Defamation lawsuits against Melissa Lantsman, Ezra Levant and Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs
To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.com>
5 to 7 February 2025
Thank you for your email. I am out of town and in meetings the remainder of this week. During this time, I will have limited access to email, and my response time will likely be delayed.
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From: Nicole Amiel <namiel@cija.ca>
Date: Thu, Feb 6, 2025 at 4:44 PM
Subject: Automatic reply: RE Defamation lawsuits against Melissa Lantsman, Ezra Levant and Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs
To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.com>
Please note that CIJA offices close on Fridays at 2 p.m. (local time) in observance of Shabbat. From this time until Shabbat ends on Saturday night, our team does not respond to emails or phone calls, and as an organization, we cannot participate in interviews or provide comments.
Nicole
---
Bonjour,
Veuillez noter que je suis hors du bureau le 6 février. Dans mon absence, SVP contactez Julien à jcorona@CIJA.ca.
Notez: les bureaux de CIJA ferment le vendredi à 14 h (heure locale) en observance du Shabbat. Entre cette heure et la fin du Shabbat le samedi soir, notre équipe ne répond pas aux courriels ou aux appels téléphoniques et, en tant qu'organisation, nous ne pouvons pas participer à des interviews ou fournir des commentaires.
---
Nicole Amiel
Director, Media Relations and Communications Directrice, Relations médias et Communications Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs Centre consultatif des relations juives et israéliennes 416 525 2592
Date: Thu, Feb 6, 2025 at 4:39 PM
Subject: Automatic Reply
To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.com>
Thank you for writing to the Honourable Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada.
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From: Minister of Finance / Ministre des Finances <minister-ministre@fin.gc.ca>
Date: Thu, Feb 6, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Subject: Automatic reply: RE Defamation lawsuits against Melissa Lantsman, Ezra Levant and Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs
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From: Moore, Rob - M.P. <Rob.Moore@parl.gc.ca>
Date: Thu, Feb 6, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Subject: Automatic reply: RE Defamation lawsuits against Melissa Lantsman, Ezra Levant and Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs
To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.com>
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From: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, Feb 6, 2025 at 4:34 PM
Subject: RE Defamation lawsuits against Melissa Lantsman, Ezra Levant and Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs
To: melissa.lantsman <melissa.lantsman@parl.gc.ca>, <ezra@rebelmedia.com>, <namiel@cija.ca>, <erica.berry@stlbarristers.ca>, <alexi.wood@stlbarristers.ca>
Cc: <david.thurton@cbc.ca>, Newsroom <Newsroom@globeandmail.com>, David.Akin <David.Akin@globalnews.ca>, mcu <mcu@justice.gc.ca>, pm <pm@pm.gc.ca>, Katie.Telford <Katie.Telford@pmo-cpm.gc.ca>, <ps.ministerofpublicsafety-ministredelasecuritepublique.sp@ps-sp.gc.ca>, pierre.poilievre <pierre.poilievre@parl.gc.ca>, jagmeet.singh <jagmeet.singh@parl.gc.ca>, <media@islamicrelief.ca>, <josephhazelton@gmail.com>, <goratahir@yahoo.ca>, <raheel@raheelraza.com>, <info@muslimsfacingtomorrow.com>, <razzaz55@gmail.com>, Bill.Blair <Bill.Blair@parl.gc.ca>, ministryofjustice <ministryofjustice@gov.ab.ca>, fin.minfinance-financemin.fin <fin.minfinance-financemin.fin@canada.ca>, JAG.Minister <JAG.Minister@gov.bc.ca>, Jason Lavigne <jason@yellowhead.vote>, Mike.Comeau <Mike.Comeau@gnb.ca>, robert.mckee <robert.mckee@gnb.ca>, rob.moore <rob.moore@parl.gc.ca>, John.Williamson <John.Williamson@parl.gc.ca>
Former human rights chief launches defamation lawsuit against Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman
None of the allegations have been proven in court and the defendants have not filed statements of defence.

The lawsuits were filed Monday in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, and Dattani's lawyer posted documents online.
"By spreading these poisonous allegations during a defining moment in Mr. Dattani's career, MP Lantsman ensured that her false representations discredited Mr. Dattani," according to the statement of claim.
Immediately after Dattani's June 2024 appointment, Conservatives and Jewish advocacy groups condemned his selection and called for his resignation.
Dattani, who was heralded as the first Muslim to head the commission, denied the allegations and resigned before officially assuming the role.
"MP Lantsman deliberately used some of the most harmful language possible to undermine Mr. Dattani's otherwise stellar reputation," the lawsuit alleges.
None of the allegations have been proven in court and the defendants have not filed statements of defence. Lantsman and another organization involved in the defamation claims, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), denies the allegations.
The lawsuit cites Lantsman's online and other social media posts, such as this one made shortly after Dattani's appointment.
"Another antisemite gets promoted by Trudeau. Birju Dattani, known for perpetuating hate toward Jews, has been appointed Chief of the Canadian Human Rights Commission," reads the June 25, 2024, Instagram post, which the lawsuit quotes.
The lawsuit also notes another post on X that Lantsman made two days later.
"Spineless Liberals Trudeau's new human rights commissioner has a grotesque anti-Israel record," it reads.
Conservative
Deputy Leader Melissa Lantsman asks a question during question period
in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa on Feb. 13, 2024.
Immediately after Dattani's appointment, Conservatives and Jewish
advocacy groups condemned his selection and called for his resignation. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
Lantsman and other Jewish advocacy groups flagged comments Dattani made in the past as a student, along with a 2015 panel discussion in the U.K. where he shared the stage alongside a member of Hizb ut-Tahrir, an Islamic fundamentalist group.
The group seeks to establish a new caliphate and opposes Israel's existence.
Lantsman alleged that Dattani could not objectively oversee an organization that was supposed to protect from discrimination.
At the time, Dattani denied the accusations and said he was unaware that a member of the fundamentalist group would be participating on the panel.
Lantsman calls claims baseless
Dattani also shared on social media a 2014 article that compared the treatment of Palestinians to the Warsaw ghetto during the Second World War.
A grad student at the time, Dattani, posted the article without comment. He repeatedly said that he regrets doing so and disagreed with the writer's argument.
His lawsuit alleges as a direct result of Lantsman's defamatory posts, Dattani's career and reputation were irreparably harmed. Dattani, his suit notes, is now a senior fellow at the Centre for Free Expression at Toronto Metropolitan University.
"Defamatory statements are each crafted to provoke a visceral reaction. By their plain and ordinary meaning, and through the insidious contexts in which they were presented, these statements paint a portrait of Mr. Dattani as a morally repugnant figure," the lawsuit states.
The intention, the statement of claim alleges, was to portray Dattani as unfit to serve as Canada's human rights chief, along with being incompetent, unprofessional and a supporter of terrorism.
Among the damages that Dattani is seeking through the lawsuit include payments amounting to $650,000 and a declaration from Lantsman that she defamed Dattani.
In a statement to CBC News, a Conservative spokesperson said Lantsman will fight the lawsuit against her.
"The controversy surrounding the appointment of Mr. Dattani by the Liberal government is a matter of public record. Ms. Lantsman will vigorously defend herself against these baseless claims," the statement read.
Dattani also suing Ezra Levant, Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs
Dattani is also pursuing similar lawsuits against the advocacy organization the CIJA and Rebel News founder Ezra Levant.
Levant did not immediately respond to CBC News's request for comment, but CIJA sent the following statement.
"We received the statement of claim and are reviewing. What we said is sourced and factual," said Richard Marceau, CIJA's vice president of external affairs and general counsel.
After complaints from Lantsman and CIJA, Justice Minister Arif Virani triggered a fact-finding mission run by an outside law firm.
The report found no evidence that Dattani was antisemitic.
"Based on Mr. Dattani's evidence, the scholarship that was reviewed and provided, we cannot find that Mr. Dattani harboured or harbours any beliefs that would be characterized as anti-Semitic or that he has demonstrated any biases (conscious or unconscious) towards Jews or Israelis," says a segment of the report cited by Dattani in his Aug. 1 letter to Virani.
However, the report flagged that Dattani omitted the name Mujahid Dattani from his background check forms and omitted periods of unemployment.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Senior reporter, Parliamentary Correspondent
David Thurton is a senior reporter in CBC's Parliamentary Bureau. He covers daily politics in the nation’s capital and specializes in environment and energy policy. Born in Canada but raised in Trinidad and Tobago, he’s moved around more times than he can count. He’s worked for CBC in several provinces and territories, including Alberta and the Northwest Territories. He can be reached at david.thurton@cbc.ca
From: Lantsman, Melissa - M.P. <melissa.lantsman@parl.gc.ca>
Date: Tue, Feb 13, 2024 at 3:55 PM
Subject: Automatic reply: I watched David Dickson featured by Jason Lavigne today and I saw red as I listened to him yap
To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
Hello,
We have received your email message. Thank you very much for contacting us.
We will review your message and seek to get back to you as soon as possible.
As priority is given responding to constituents of Thornhill, if your email did not include your full mailing address (postal address), please resend your original email, providing that information.
For those outside of Thornhill - please note that your local Member of Parliament is best able to address your concerns. You can find your local MP here: Find Members of Parliament - Members of Parliament - House of Commons of Canada (ourcommons.ca).
For media requests, please email: braydon.wilson.504@parl.gc.ca
If you are contacting MP Lantsman
regarding an immigration case from outside of Canada unfortunately, we
are unable to assist. To avoid delays please direct your inquiry to
Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada at this
link:
https://www.canada.ca/en/
If you wish to call our office to follow up on your email, our Community Office can be reached at 905-886-9911.
Thank you once again.
Sincerely,
Melissa Lantsman
Member of Parliament for Thornhill
From: Chrystia Freeland <Chrystia.Freeland@fin.gc.ca>
Date: Tue, Feb 13, 2024 at 3:55 PM
Subject: Automatic reply: I watched David Dickson featured by Jason Lavigne today and I saw red as I listened to him yap
To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
The
Department of Finance acknowledges receipt of your electronic
correspondence. Please be assured that we appreciate receiving your
comments.
Le ministère des Finances Canada accuse réception de votre courriel.
Nous vous assurons que vos commentaires sont les bienvenus.
From: Lantsman, Melissa - M.P. <melissa.lantsman@parl.gc.ca>
Date: Sat, Feb 19, 2022 at 1:43 AM
Subject: Automatic reply: Trudeau Invoking the Emergency Act and Freeland defending her liberal democracy byway of her bankster buddies
To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
Hello,
We have received your email message. Thank you very much for contacting us.
Our office receives hundreds of emails each week, and each one is important to us. Priority will be given to residents of the Thornhill riding.
For constituents of Thornhill, if your email did not include your full mailing address (postal address), please get back to us and provide that information. Please note, we are unable to respond to form emails.
For media requests please email braydon.wilson.504@parl.gc.ca
We will review your message, and seek to get back to you as soon as possible.
If you wish to call our office to follow up on your email, our Community Office can be reached at 905-886-9911.
Thank you once again.
Sincerely,
Melissa Lantsman
Member of Parliament for Thornhill
From: Lantsman, Melissa - M.P. <melissa.lantsman@parl.gc.ca>
Date: Thu, Jun 30, 2022 at 3:36 PM
Subject: Automatic reply: Methinks the sneaky lawyer Warren Kinsella is correct about the LIEbraro war room and their cop cohorts having plans for you Nesy Pas?
To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
Hello,
We have received your email message. Thank you very much for contacting us.
Our office receives hundreds of emails each week, and each one is important to us. Priority will be given to residents of the Thornhill riding.
For constituents of Thornhill, if your email did not include your full mailing address (postal address), please get back to us and provide that information.
For media requests please email braydon.wilson.504@parl.gc.ca
For those outside of Thornhill - please note that your local Member of Parliament is best able to address your concerns. You can find your local MP here: Find Members of Parliament - Members of Parliament - House of Commons of Canada (ourcommons.ca)
If you are contacting MP Lantsman regarding an immigration case from outside of Canada unfortunately we are unable to assist. To avoid delays please direct your inquiry to Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada at this link: My immigration or citizenship application - Canada.ca
We will review your message, and seek to get back to you as soon as possible.
If you wish to call our office to follow up on your email, our Community Office can be reached at 905-886-9911.
Thank you once again.
Sincerely,
Melissa Lantsman
Member of Parliament for Thornhill
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