Rebel News reporter gets booted from NDP presser
Rebel News reporter Alex Dhaliwal was kicked out of NDP Leader Rachel Notley’s press conference at the Telus Convention Centre in downtown Calgary on Monday, April 17.
A security guard responsible for his removal informed Dhaliwal that he was being kicked out by “the person that rented the space,” but would not specify who the directive came from exactly.
Rebel reporter Alex Dhaliwal (@westcdnfirst) was just kicked out of NDP Leader Rachel Notley's press conference. Notley accuses Premier Smith of dodging questions but she removes independent journalists to avoid being held to account.https://t.co/zl3Neyv6Zb pic.twitter.com/7gn9m6UUrr
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) April 17, 2023
Dhaliwal said that he intended to ask accountability questions around the defunding of the police rhetoric seen by NDP party members.
"Some of their comments are considered incredibly inflammatory given that across Canada we have seen a rise in violent crime, particularly stabbings and shootings,” he correctly observes.
Fellow independent journalist Keean Bexte was also removed from the grounds. Speaking to a self-identified “contractor,” Bexte asked if they were hired to stop media from asking the ex-premier questions.
BREAKING: Rachel Notley has a reporter thrown out of her press conference because I was about to ask her about her team's history with Defund The Police movements. pic.twitter.com/f0wiT4exo1
— Keean Bexte (@TheRealKeean) April 17, 2023
The removal of at least two journalists comes just days after Notley had a meltdown about Alberta Premier Danielle Smith limiting media to one question each.
Alberta NDP leader Rachel Notley had the police drag at least two reporters out of her Monday afternoon press conference after days of criticizing Alberta Premier Danielle Smith for limiting reporters to one question per media availability. https://t.co/4pXo2R8Fvb
— Rachel Emmanuel (@Emmanuel_Rach) April 17, 2023
Alberta’s NDP Critic for Ethics and Democracy went so far as to condemn the premier's policy and demanded an apology, in a statement posted to Twitter.
“Journalists are the proxy for the public, and they serve a critical role in Canadian society by questioning elected officials. This kind of attempt to prevent journalists from doing their jobs is dangerous for our democracy,” it read.
The NDP is calling for a reversal of this new policy imposed by the Premier, and an apology.
— Saif Kaisar (@StaySaif) April 14, 2023
They say she is dodging questions to avoid accountability.@MLAIrfanSabir calls Smith's actions disgraceful and dangerous to democracy.#cdnpoli #abpoli #ableg #Alberta
FULL STATEMENT: pic.twitter.com/ZiQULEZGHq
It would appear that once again the hypocrisy of the bureaucracy rears its sanctimonious head.

