I went to Montreal to attend Justin Trudeau’s press conference on funding for the aerospace industry at the city’s convention centre. Various ministers were in attendance, alongside Quebec Premier Francois Legault.

My colleague Yanky Pollak and I did not have any expectations of being able to ask questions at the event, and we were not surprised that in the end our questions went unanswered. Patiently, I waited in line with other reporters from corporate media outlets. A man asked me to identify myself, which I did. He told me to stay in line and soon after, asked me how I got into the press conference, since I wasn’t accredited or registered. I told him that the security people had wanted to register me when I walked into the room, but they hadn’t done so. He even admitted this had happened before!

The same man then came to me to tell me that he approved my request for a question, but all other media outlets would be going before me. When it was my turn, I noticed that they had turned off the microphone before I got there. What a lack of respect! So I went up to Mr. Trudeau to ask my question. I was quickly intercepted by security, who surrounded me. I explained to them that the man in question had lied to me, and that he had given me permission to speak at the microphone.

Despite everything, Rebel News and other independent media outlets will always be the ones kept in silence. Real questions are too great a risk for these politicians to allow.