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Canadian police officer under investigation for arresting reporter who asked Deputy PM questions

Published

1 year ago

6 minute read

Rebel News reporter David Menzies is forcefully arrested

From LifeSiteNews

By Anthony Murdoch

Authorities acknowledged that Rebel News’ David Menzies posed no threat while attempting to interview Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland before he was arrested by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officer responsible for the aggressive arrest of Rebel News reporter David Menzies on Monday night is under investigation and the local city police involved in the incident has confirmed the journalist posed no threat to Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland.

As per a National Post report, the RCMP officer was placed under review after video of the altercation went viral.

According to RCMP spokesperson Sgt. Kim Chamberland, the “RCMP protective policing resources were involved in an incident while deployed on a protective operation.”

“The RCMP is looking into the incident and the actions of all parties involved,” Chamberland said.

Outrage exploded on social media this week after video footage seems to show the Canadian reporter being falsely accused of “assault” by a police officer and then immediately apprehended while he was attempting to ask Freeland questions on a public street.

In a video recorded and published Monday that has gone viral with close to 14 million views, Menzies is seen walking beside Freeland on a street in the Toronto suburb of Richmond Hill, Ontario, attempting to ask her questions about Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and why the group has not been given a terrorist designation by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government, of which she is second in command.

Seconds later, the video footage appears to show a plainclothes police officer, who is now confirmed to be a member of the RCMP, positioning his body directly in Menzies’ path, effectively forcing physical contact between himself and the reporter.

After the two lightly bump into each other — contact that the video seems to indicate was initiated by the officer and not Menzies — the officer begins to arrest Menzies in a rather aggressive manner while accusing the reporter of physically assaulting a police officer. Menzies, visibly shocked at the series of events, was then taken away by members of the York Regional Police, the local force operating in Richmond Hill.

Chamberland, as per the National Post, did not provide additional comments regarding the incident but did confirm that the RCMP review will involve all parties.

He said during his arrest, “Welcome to Canada.”

“This is what they do to journalists. I was merely trying to scrum Minister Freeland and the RCMP officer blocked me, and evidently this is a trumped-up charge of assault, folks. I came here to do my job and now I’m handcuffed,” he added.

Rebel News reporter posed no ‘threat’ to Deputy PM Freeland, local police confirms

The York Regional Police (YRP) assisted the RCMP in arresting Menzies, but its media relations officer, Constable Lisa Moskaluk, claims that the arrest was made solely by the RCMP.

“The arrest of the Rebel News reporter was made by the Prime Minister’s RCMP security detail,” Moskaluk said.

“York Regional Police officers assisted as the interaction took place in our region.”

York police also confirmed that Menzies did not pose any “threat” to Freeland.

“It was determined that no credible security threat existed and the subject was released unconditionally shortly thereafter,” said Moskaluk, per the National Post.

Menzies’ arrest has drawn international attention. It was immediately condemned by many, including prominent Canadian politicians. Even Tesla billionaire Elon Musk chimed in with his thoughts on the incident as the video circulated online.

Conservative Party of Canada leader Pierre Poilievre reposted Rebel News’ original video of Menzies’ arrest, adding in his own words, “This is the state of freedom of the press. In Canada. In 2024. After 8 years of Trudeau.”

Rebel News head and founder Ezra Levant put the blame on Trudeau’s “thugs” for Menzies’ arrest, and said his team met with lawyer and planned to sue the RCMP, York Regional Police, and Freeland for false arrest.

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Business

Apple removes security feature in UK after gov’t demands access to user data worldwide

Published on February 21, 2025

By

From LifeSiteNews

By Emily Mangiaracina

The decision was otherwise roundly condemned on X as “horrific,” “horrendous,” the hallmark of a “dictatorship,” and even “the biggest breach of privacy Western civilization has ever seen.”

Apple pulled its Advanced Data Protection tool in the UK after the British government ordered the company to give it access to user data around the world.

Apple Store on New York’s Fifth Avenue.

Apple pulled its highest-level security feature in the U.K. after the government ordered the company to give it access to user data.

The U.K. government demanded “blanket access” to all user accounts around the world rather than to specific ones, a move unprecedented in major democracies, according to The Washington Post.

The security tool at issue in the U.K. is Advanced Data Protection (ADP), which provides end-to-end encryption so that only owners of particular data – and reportedly not even Apple – can access it.

“Apple can no longer offer Advanced Data Protection (ADP) in the United Kingdom to new users and current UK users will eventually need to disable this security feature,” an Apple spokesman said.

According to Apple, the removal of ADP will not affect iCloud data types that are end-to-end encrypted by default such as iMessage and FaceTime.

The nine iCloud categories that will reportedly no longer have ADP protection are iCloud Backup, iCloud Drive, Photos, Notes, Reminders, Safari Bookmarks, Siri Shortcuts, Voice Memos, Wallet Passes, and Freeform.

These types of data will be covered only by standard data protection, the default setting for accounts.

Journalist and Twitter Files whistleblower Michael Schellenberger slammed the U.K.-initiated move as “totalitarian.”

The decision was otherwise roundly condemned on X as “horrific,” “horrendous,” the hallmark of a “dictatorship,” and even “the biggest breach of privacy Western civilization has ever seen.”

Elon Musk declared Friday that such a privacy breach “would have happened in America” if President Donald Trump had not been elected.

 

Jake Moore, global cybersecurity adviser at ESET, commented that the move marks “a huge step backwards in the protection of privacy online.”

“Creating a backdoor for ethical reasons means it will inevitably only be a matter of time before threat actors also find a way in,” Moore said.

Britain reportedly made the privacy invasion demand under the authority of the Investigatory Powers Act of 2016.

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Business

Federal Heritage Minister recommends nearly doubling CBC funding and reducing accountability

Published on February 21, 2025

By

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling for the CBC to be completely defunded in the wake of the federal Liberal government’s recommendation to nearly double the state broadcaster’s cost to taxpayers and hide its budget reporting.

“It is outrageous for the government to try to hide the cost of the CBC from the taxpayers who are paying its bills,” said Franco Terrazzano, CTF Federal Director. “This government is totally out touch if it thinks it can nearly double CBC’s cost to taxpayers and try to hide its costs.”

Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge said the government should nearly double the amount of money the CBC takes from taxpayers every year.

The CBC will cost taxpayers about $1.4 billion this year.

“The average funding for public broadcasters in G7 countries is $62 per person, per year,” St-Onge said. “We need to aim closer to the middle ground, which is $62 per year per person.”

Canada’s population is about 41.5 million people. If the government funded the CBC the way the minister is recommending, the CBC would cost taxpayers about $2.5 billion per year.

That amount would cover the annual grocery bill of about 152,854 Canadian families.

St-Onge also recommended the annual taxpayer funding for the CBC be removed from the government budget report and instead be entrenched in government statutory appropriations.

“I propose that it be financed directly in the legislation instead of in the budget through statutory appropriation,” St-Onge said.

“Canadians have told this government that the CBC costs them too much money, that it is not accountable to taxpayers and they don’t watch it, and now the government wants to double down on all those problems,” said Kris Sims, CTF Alberta Director. “The CBC is an enormous waste of money and journalists should not be paid by the government.

“The CBC must be defunded.”

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