Tyee editor David Beers was traveling down a highway with his family on holiday when emailed questions from Ezra Levant arrived yesterday morning. Levant's controversial views on 'ethical oil' and who has the right to journalistically explore important questions involving the oil sands and Canada's energy future were satirized in the video "Ethical Oil: The Puppet Rap" published by The Tyee last week. Afterwards, Levant used his Sun TV show to attack The Tyee. Preparing a second show designed to do the same, he sent the questions below Monday morning. By the time the queries made it to Beers, there was no time to answer them before the deadline Levant provided.
Although it was explained to Levant by a Tyee staff member that Beers was indisposed and would get to the questions end of day, Levant resumed his attacks on The Tyee anyway on his Monday show.
Beers sent these responses to Levant last night via email and Levant acknowledged receiving them, and said he would speak to them on a future edition of his show.
To Ezra Levant
From David Beers
Apologies for the delay. Have been driving (yes! burning hydrocarbons!) all day with my family on a holiday trip. Here are answers to your questions.
1. In your online reply to my comments, you say the Tyee's reporting is balanced. Have you ever published a pro-oilsands article?
The news reporting we publish does not set out to be pro or anti oil sands. We are interested in reporting that helps everyone get a better idea of whether the oil sands are sustainable, where the wealth they generate goes, how the oil sands might affect climate change, and such. We start with questions and are pleased to publish whatever answers we unearth. If the answers we arrive at aren't considered 'pro' oil sands by you or others, well, that's where the facts took us. The Tyee makes it a policy to seek out the views of government(s) and representatives of the oil industry whenever reporting a news story on the oil sands. A review of our stories will show we do that. A good example would be this award-winning series on lobbying for and against the oil sands in Washington:
War Over Oil Sands: Report From Washington D.C.
In it you'll find more than one story where the position of the oil sands lobby is given full voice. Examples:
Breakfast With the Oil Sands' Top Salesman.
War Cry of Oil Sands Lobby: 'Us against the World.'
As an example of the wide range of news stories we publish about energy and the oil sands that reflect all sides, here's a story where Enbridge's reassurances about the low risk posed by double hulled tankers is the main thrust of the story:
Enbridge Pushes Oil Tanker Safety Strategy.
We also run daily a direct feed from The Canadian Press which includes numerous oil sands reports on an ongoing basis.
What is the ratio of pro- to anti-oilsands commentary that you publish?
I don't know. I don't divide the world into pro and anti oil sands. I am fine with publishing on The Tyee a fair amount of commentary that raises concerns about how to make Canada's energy future sustainable and whether current energy related policies are in the best interests of Canadians, and in the best interests of all the planet's inhabitants. I think there is a real need for that voice to be well represented in the public debate.
2. You say that you do not take editorial direction from donors. But the $15,000 grant from the Tides Foundation clearly says it's for a "tar sands" campaign. What were the terms of that grant?
We do not take editorial direction from funders. We seek funding from philanthropies to support independent news reporting we have decided in house that we would like to do in order to seek new information and share it with the public. If the potential funders turn us down, so be it. In this case the Tyee Solutions Society, which is a non-profit affiliated with The Tyee but a separate organization, sought from Tides resources to allow two journalists to continue down reporting paths they had already been following on oil sands policy and technology issues. Among the issues vital to the public interest they reported on: safety measures and oversight in case of an oil spill along the B.C. coast, whether oil sands crude meets low emission oil standards being proposed in various countries, how carbon sequestration was panning out, and more. Whatever Tides labeled the fund it drew from to fund our proposal is not my concern or in my control. The Tyee Solutions Society proposed to Tides to do journalism in the public interest, its proposal was funded, and the Tyee Solutions Society produced news stories that were fair, fact-based, sought the perspectives of all sides, and brought to light important new information.
3. How much money have you received from Tides Canada?
I don't know the exact figure. And when you say 'you' please be clear that there are two organizations that produce journalism that may appear on the Tyee, and that Tides Canada has funded several projects produced by Tyee Solutions Society – which have won journalism awards and which are made available for cross publication by other media as well as publication on The Tyee.
The simplest way to put it is that the total amount of funding Tides Canada has given for various journalism projects that have run on The Tyee is less than 10 per cent of our total revenues in any one year, and under 5 per cent of total revenues during the life of the Tyee. That's how we like our revenue mix: diverse so that we are not dependent on any one source, ensuring editorial independence.
What guidance or focus accompanied those grants?
The Tyee or The Tyee Solutions Society proposed to do reporting in an area of importance to the public interest. Tides Canada accepted our proposal and funded our work.
4. Do you know who donors were who gave the money to you through Tides?
No. It is enough to know it came from Tides, a reputable grant-maker.
5. Do you think that public interest journalism is charitable work?
Yes.
6. Did you consult with Tides or Tides Canada regarding the puppet video?
No. And neither Tides nor Tides Canada had anything to do with its funding or making. Kai Nagata's work for The Tyee has been as Tyee Writer in Residence, with a stipend from The Tyee. He is given editorial independence in that role, and chose independently of me or anyone at The Tyee to do the video, and to do so with collaborators outside The Tyee. The first I saw it was when it was all but done. I liked it. I thought it brought levity to the debate in the spirit of satire on the Jon Stewart Daily Show, the Colbert Report, and what, I gather, you attempt yourself on your show. Tyee money spent on the video would just have been the portion of the Writer in Residence stipend Kai was receiving the week or so he worked on the video.
Did you consult with them after I criticize you and them?
No. I did receive an email from Tides Canada pointing out that a typo misidentified them in the piece that quoted me on The Tyee. I apologized to them for the error and made sure it was fixed.
Beers added this comment today: "I'm concerned Levant is blurring some important distinctions and don't want to leave any room for confusion. The Tyee does not seek funding for commentary. The Tyee, and The Tyee Solutions Society, only seek philanthropical funding for news reporting, presented as such, in the public interest. Another distinction important to make is that Tides and Tides Canada are legally separate organizations."
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G West
1 year ago
Well done David
The clarification, while unnecessary for anyone who's been reading The Tyee regularly, is important.
Levant is a bully and he IS NOT A JOURNALIST in any responsible sense of the word - he's a agent provocateur.
It is interesting that someone who's operating principles are dominated by the instinct to push sticks into his opponents faces would get so exercised when someone deals with him in a satirical way...
Sask Resident
1 year ago
Disingenuous?
The article includes comments on controversial views on 'ethical oil' and "how carbon sequestration was panning out" Both may just have been a Freudian slips. All Canadian oil is more ethically produced than oil in Sudan, Nigerian and Iran, and probably Russia, so the views over Canada's "ethical oil" in comparison are hardly controversial. CO2 has been used to flood oil bearing formations for years, as has natural gas, LPGs (miscible flood) and water, to improve oil production. Sequestration just means that the gas used does not return to the surface. "Panning" would hardly be a good term in an objective report.
Just because an article is fact based does not mean it isn't bias. Leaving out facts can bend a story just as much as false information. On the oil shipping article, the Tyree assumed a catastrophic spill and ignored the effects that resulted from oil recent oil spills but kept referring to the Alaska spill that happened 25 years ago. Most of the 25 million barrels of oil shipped per day around the world today is carried in oil tankers but the biggest problem occurred from two drilling rig blow outs, on in the Timor sea and another in the US Gulf Coast. The Tyree article also implied that the BC coast is pristine but ignored the numerous ferries, oil carriers, coastal freighters and barges (many carrying petroleum products to remote communities), container ships and fishing boats that ply the same waters. Something like noting the pristine areas along highways that will be destroyed by allowing Hummers on the road.
Most readers know that the media have bias but some media deny the bias rather than dealing with it. The Sun is bias but admits it. The CBC is also bias but claims to be purer than driven snow however wind blown snow picks up dirt and pollutants along the way. The Tyree is bias but generally admits it, however claims of journalistic sanctity on the Canadian oil industry are disingenuous.
I noticed that "award winning" was mentioned numerous times. Most news awards are for the writing or the political correctness of the articles not the objectivity and factual background of the content. Even a poorly constructed power point presentation with questionable content won two awards. Science awards are usually awarded years after the science was done to see if the theories were proven to be robust and generally true.
BTW, I would like the Tyree to do an in depth report on the influence of groups like Tides on Canadian decision making. I have little doubt that Exxon supports opposition to Canadian pipelines to ensure that they continue to pay and are taxed for $85 oil rather than $116 Brent priced oil.
G West
1 year ago
Sask Resident
Did you actually 'read' the answers Beers provided to Levant's questions?
If you had any questions about Levant's lack of journalistic integrity the simple fact he delivered a list of questions to an interlocutor without a negotiated timeline and then went ahead with another attack on the Tyee's integrity without having received a reply to his concerns ought to remove any doubt about who is behaving badly in this little drama.
Levant, like most schoolyard bullies, can dish it out with alacrity but has a serious problem with being able to take it as well.
PeterProHST
1 year ago
The Tyee backs itself into an invisible corner
Ok, lets start with the obvious, The Tyee picked this fight with Ezra Levant by making a satirical video which defames him and his views. Now, whether you personally agree with Ezra or the Tyee on the issue of oil, you have to accept that personal attacks on a person are unacceptable in this nature.
Some people on twitter and in the Tyee have suggested that the Tyee is allowed to make satire because others like Jon Stewart or Rick Mercer do the same and are successful at it. The Tyee however, claims to be a news source, whereas Rick Mercer and Jon Stewart are honest and declare themselves as comedians in the entertainment industry. Now, should the Tyee decide to give up on news and decide to focus its charitable earnings on comedy, then they could put a video like that on their front page of their comedy magazine.
Next, The Tyee does pay its staff with charitable funds. I do not agree with this in any sense, because it makes no sense for a biased news magazine (if we are still calling it news), to be able to use tax free cash to lobby for its benefactors and their industries. If Sun News Network was doing this, I would say the same to them and rally to shut them down as well, which is to say that until The Tyee gives up its charitable status and its charitable Funds (It even lists them under the name Tyee), I will not support it or anything that comes from it.
Peter Ritchie
@PeterProHST
G West
1 year ago
PeterPro
Hardly - it was 'satire'...and it picked a target richly deserving of a satirical enema. If you think Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert aren't doing something important in the era of FOX News and CNN which goes far beyond simple comedy then you either haven't been paying attention or your best before date has expired.
As for the debate about 'charitable status', please, give us a break: as long as Michael Walker and the Fraser Institute qualify for charitable status I don't think you have a leg to stand on.
As for your not supporting the Tyee, I suspect you weren't contributing much to the cause before Levant got his richly deserved pie in the face.
I doubt you'll be missed - in fact, I've done a search of the Tyee archives which came up with a grand total of two instances from Sept of 2011.
Chuckle.
G West
1 year ago
I should be clear
I searched for PeterProHST...to get those two hits!
You may well have contributed under some other rubric in the past.
NetZeroFair
1 year ago
Thank you Peter...
At least Jon Stewart & Rick Mercer FUND charity, NOT take from it :-).
enuf said.
Bambammon
1 year ago
Hypocrite
Considering the President and CEO of Quebecor (Sun News' parent company) is a board member of the Fraser Institute (a registered charity that produces political articles for publication in such venues as Sun News) I would like to see Ezra Levant petition to have the Fraser Institute's charitable status revoked. Since 9% of the Fraser Institute's funding comes from abroad, it seems fair to assert they are right-wing radicals beholden to foreign paymasters.
What was that about conflict of interest?
Skywalker
1 year ago
What more Ezra bull!
Has Ezra ever presented a view not in favour of the oils sands or the Enbridge pipeline? Ignore the fool!
Jeffrey J.
1 year ago
Will Mr. Levant Answer the Same Questions about His Funding?
Will Mr. Levant answer the same questions about the funding he has received over the past ten years? If not, this is more hypocrisy that gets worse by the day.
Great coverage David! Thanks so much for showing candor. Very refreshing.
Ricky
1 year ago
What a nice tack!
Judging from recent public exchanges with opponents and critics, it seems the con-jobs, from the illegitimate Prime Minister down to repulsive media hacks like Ezra Levant have definitely added the threat, explicit and implicit, of revocation of charitable status to their arsenal of bully tactics, now that they have the government in their clammy, larcenous hands. What noble creatures! How civilized!
If they decide to make good on their threats, I'll just declare less income and donate the would-be taxes to the blacklisted efforts I love, and I encourage everyone else to do the same.
I mean, really, threatening charities? What a bunch of nasty reptiles. They don't even have one admirable intellectual or media person in their midst, they're all scaly, corrupt, and painfully, completely unfit to hold any position demanding high-mindedness and respectability. [OFFENSIVE COMMENT REMOVED HERE...]
These robocalling, debt-making, 40% vote-getting, country stealing, foreign corporate payrolled, phony patriot, veteran attacking, G.W.Bush-tactic-loving, ignorant, anti-Canadian, jowly Conservative blowhards only deserve to eat from a real trough, not the public one they occupy now. When will we, the majority, stop treating them as legitimate? Come on, Canada, they won with 40% Our country has been hijacked! Fuck waiting four years, [...AND HERE. -MODERATOR.] They're nothing - bullies are always the biggest punks! Let's kick 'em out now!
Dale Jackaman
1 year ago
Toads
Ezra is just another Harper Con supporting piece of Kent who toadies for not just the oil cartels but the tobacco industry as well. Ethical reasoning and evidence based pronouncements are not his modus operandi and that makes him dangerous because there are a lot of people out there who are dumb enough to believe him. He's Canada's Rush (windbag) Limbaugh and deserves all the crap we can throw his way, charitably funded and all.
DJ
crankypants
1 year ago
If
If Ezra Levant is the champion of oilsands oil being the most ethical available, then why is he not championing a pipeline to Eastern Canada which imports its oil from unethical sources? After all, is it not more important that Canada looks after itself before the profits of foreign owned petroleum consortiums?
Over to you Mr. Levant.
igbymac
1 year ago
Mr Levant is completely transparent
Regrettably Ezra Levant has already consumed about an hour of my life. I took a little extra time to make sure I wasn't jumping to conclusions about his world view.
In doing so, I learned this: As far as any objectivity goes, I slot Ezra Levant in amongst that similarly destructive lot of idiots, the cast off of FOX news. That is, he has none.
I believe the late Molly Ivins said it best back in 1987 when discussing journalistic objectivity, something Levant knows nothing about:
Today I laughingly regret spending an entire hour of my life in Ezra's fantasyland.
jimmmmy
1 year ago
Puppet
Mr. Levant is a yankee puppet sent into Canada to drive wedge issues on his Fox style tv channel.
ron wilton
1 year ago
Little Man Syndrome
Sadly, Mr. LeRant, like virtually all of Herr Harper's past and present inner office cabin boys, suffers the unfairness of being vertically challenged.
The harder he tries to raise his profile, the more ridiculous he becomes.
Were he to accept his little lot in life, consider it an asset instead of a curse, he would surely have a much happier life.
Skywalker
1 year ago
Good one igbymac
It is a sign of the times that obnoxious or moronic behaviour has become entertainment for enough folks to make the loud-mouthed rich. The U.S. has had this for years and now we see it creeping up into Canada. You can always find a market for half baked ideas and offensiveness.
David made the mistake of trying to reason with this guy. I would not have bothered except to come up with another rap on Ezra's small brain.