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Bad news. We just lost our court case against the Canada Revenue Agency.

The case was about one question: Does a committee hand-picked by Justin Trudeau get to decide who is a journalist in Canada? The Federal Court of Appeal says it does.

In case you're out of the loop, a few years ago Trudeau invented a government licence for journalists called the QCJO — the Qualified Canadian Journalism Organization. Outlets that get that licence collect payroll subsidies, and their subscribers get a tax break. The licence is handed out by a panel that Trudeau appointed.

Rebel News does not take government money. We never will. So we didn't apply for the money. We applied for one reason: to force the government to say, in writing, whether it thinks we're journalists.

It did.

A panel hand-picked by Justin Trudeau's government decided that Rebel News — with reporters in courtrooms, at Parliament and on the streets of every big city in the country — is not "qualified." Meanwhile, the newspapers and broadcasters Ottawa approves of collect payroll subsidies, and their subscribers got a tax break that ours were denied.

The courts didn't make their own judgment about us. They deferred to Trudeau's committee. A committee now decides who counts as a journalist in Canada, and the courts say that's fine.

Today it's Rebel News. But the government can use the same tool on anyone.

The legal bill for this fight is now over $100,000, and the court ordered us to pay the government's costs on top of our own. The ruling is 2026 FCA 170. You can read it for yourself at LetUsReport.com.

A normal person would pay the bill, go quiet and stop criticizing the government. That's the rational thing to do. But I'm a free man in a free country, and we don't need Ottawa's permission to report the news.

So here is the plan.

Step 1: Pay the bill. Over $100,000. That's the cost of making the government show its hand, and I'd do it again. But it has to be paid, and soon.

Step 2: Review an appeal. Our lawyer, Robert Hawkes, is studying whether we can ask the Supreme Court of Canada to hear the case. We have about 60 days to decide. I'll tell you the moment we do, either way.

Step 3: Get ready for the censorship fights of the Carney era. They're already here. Bill C-9 puts the government's definition of "hatred" into the Criminal Code and lets a judge put conditions on you for something you haven't said yet. Bill C-22 makes it easier for police to get your information from your phone and internet company, some of it without a warrant. Bill C-34 creates a new government commission over social media with the power to decide what's "harmful." We will be in court on those, and court costs money. I'd rather raise it now than beg for it in the middle of a trial.

There's one bright spot in this ruling. In three separate places, the court says the government cannot use our political opinions to grant or take away our rights. That's a line we will hold them to in every censorship fight to come.

We've beaten the federal government before: twice against the Leaders' Debates Commission, and four times when cabinet ministers blocked our reporters on social media. We lost this one. But we'll win the next.

If you can help, you can do so at LetUsReport.com.