True North Centre for Public Policy
 | |
| Available in | English |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | , Canada |
| URL | tnc |
The True North Centre for Public Policy is a Canadian right-wing media outlet, advocacy organization, and registered charity.[1][2] It operates a digital media arm known simply as True North.[3][4]
Background
In 1994, the Independent Immigration Aid Association was started with the goal of helping immigrants from the United Kingdom settle in British Columbia.[2][5] According to Daniel Brown, a former director of the charity, a new board of directors took control of the charity in 2017 and renamed it the True North Centre for Public Policy.[2] Control was handed off to three people:[2]
- Kaz Nejatian, a former staffer for United Conservative Party leader Jason Kenney
- William McBeath, the director of Training and Marketing for the right-wing Manning Centre for Building Democracy
- Erynne Schuster, an Edmonton-based lawyer
Nejatian's wife, Candice Malcolm, describes herself as the "founder and Editor-In-Chief" of True North.[6][7]
When the immigration-focused charity was transformed into a media and research organization, the change was scrutinized in the Canadian legal field.[8] True North's filings with Canada Revenue Agency state that the organization runs "ongoing programs" that provide "support and assistance to UK immigrants to the Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island and the rest of British Columbia", that it has "new programs" dedicated to "research on immigration and integration", and that 100% of True North’s programs put emphasis on "immigrant aid".[2] However, the last available return filed with CRA was in 2017, and no new filings from the charity have been published since 2018.[2]
Election debate access
During the 2019 federal election in Canada, True North was initially denied press access to the leaders' debate on the grounds that it was not a news outlet but an advocacy organization.[9] True North argued that the decision to bar them was "unfair and arbitrary" and that the process undertaken to block them was done with "a complete lack of transparency."[10]
True North contested this decision to bar them, and brought the Leader's Debates Commission to court.[11] True North said in documents that the lack of “meaningful feedback” and transparency in the process, combined with the absence of avenues to appeal, make the commission’s decision arbitrary and unreasonable. It also alleged the decision amounts to “an attempt by the current government to censor and silence media outlets that have provided a platform for Canadians with views inconsistent with its mandate.”
The federal judge, Justice Russell Zinn, ruled in favour of True North, and forced the government to allow them to attend the debate and ask questions as journalists.[12]
Notable Employees
In 2019, Canadian columnist Lindsay Shepherd joined True North as an investigative journalist.[13]
In July 2021, Canadian conservative writer and political columnist Sue Ann Levy announced she was joining True North.[14]
References
- ^ Loriggio, Paola (7 October 2019). "Right-wing outlets win legal battle to attend the leaders' debate". CBC. Retrieved 8 September 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f "Right-Wing Media Outlet Accredited For Leaders' Debate is Also Registered as a Charity for Immigrants". PressProgress. 15 October 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
- ^ "Contact True North". Retrieved 16 September 2021.
True North is a Canadian digital media platform
- ^ "The Origins Of True North Canada, Which Its "Founder" Hides". Canuck Law. 31 January 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
- ^ "Federal Corporation Information - 264326-0 - Online Filing Centre - Corporations Canada - Corporations - Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada". www.ic.gc.ca. Retrieved 2021-09-09.
- ^ Dec 3, iPolitics Published on; 2021 2:30am (2021-12-03). "The Rebel to Rabble Review: Treetop activists and RCMP 'horror'". iPolitics. Retrieved 2021-12-10.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Candice Malcolm". Retrieved 7 September 2021.
- ^ "Interesting article by Press Progress on the True North Centre for Public Policy". Canadian Charity Law. 2019-10-19. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
- ^ "Two right-wing media outlets win legal battle to attend the leaders' debate". nationalpost. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
- ^ "Conservative media company fights federal debate ban". torontosun. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
- ^ "Two right-wing media outlets win legal battle to attend the leaders' debate". nationalpost. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
- ^ "Two right-wing media outlets win legal battle to attend the leaders' debate". nationalpost. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
- ^ Fiore, James Di (2019-12-02). "Blackballed: The Lindsay Shepherd Interview". BlackBall Media. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
- ^ Candice Malcolm (2021-07-08). "True North's newest contributor: Sue-Ann Levy". Retrieved 2021-07-23.