Sheila Gunn-Reid examines how Indigenous activists like Jennifer Lewitz and Tyler Gervais face cease-and-desist letters from the Métis Nation of Saskatchewan (MNS) for questioning $100M+ federal funding and opaque governance, including a $117M allocation to an unelected CEO. Meanwhile, journalist Kian Bexty battles Elections Canada over reporting on Liberal candidate Thomas Keeper’s alleged misconduct, with six of nine Trudeau-appointed justices potentially reviewing his case. Gunn-Reid warns that legal threats against independent journalists—like her own Stop Notley investigation—undermine free expression, revealing systemic efforts to silence scrutiny rather than address accountability in elections and Indigenous leadership. [Automatically generated summary]
Saskatchewan Métis activists are facing legal threats for demanding transparency in their own government.
I'm Sheila Gunn-Reed, and you're watching The Gunn Show.
I say that processes and structures are put in place for a reason.
If you are willing and ready to come and provide a healthy conversation that is positive and not so toxic, then yeah, everybody is welcome.
Co-chair of the MNS Ethics Committee, Brennan Morasti, says online debates have shifted from discussion to toxic attacks on employees.
On August 25th, the nation released a statement saying the provincial Métis Council passed a motion to issue cease and desist letters to those making false, harmful, and derogatory posts targeting MNS staff.
Morasty says he believes it was the right decision.
And as a government, I stand by our decision and the support of our staff to protect and be safe and feel safe because they continue to work around the clock.
Online, many posts question why MNS is spending money on legal notices against its own citizens instead of investing in them.
Morasti says this does not take away from the services and support the nation provides.
We have budgets set aside for delivery of programs and services and nothing has been halted or affected by this process.
We continue to deliver the real results for our citizens across the board and we will continue to do that while we deal with the legal matters at hand.
Jennifer Leewitz, a Korean Métis social media creator and APTN political pundit, received a cease and desist letter.
She says the letters create barriers for citizens who want to be meaningfully involved in their government and ask tough questions of leaders.
And to create more barriers through the legal process is hard.
You know, a lot of Indigenous people do not have the extra funds or money or even desire to want to fight more systems and to hire legal when we're raising kids and we're trying to be entrepreneurs and we're trying to just survive.
Métis lawyer Tyler Gervais also received a letter and says he has been banned from attending MNS government meetings.
He says this is unfair to youth who want to become involved with the nation.
To tell us to sit at home and to not be able to experience the ideals of our government, but to watch live stream and to tell my children that they can't participate and they can't come with me.
Megan Nolan also received a letter.
Nolan believes they are an attempt to silence concerned citizens.
When asked what they would like to see happen, Nolan says it is time for a forensic audit and for leadership to take accountability.
In my opinion, you need to have integrity.
You need to have accountability.
You need to be able to be transparent.
You need to be able to get called names and that's okay and take it.
You're a politician.
And you need to be able to have relations with your community, with your people.
Kathy Pruden Nansel, a former MNS elected official, also received a cease and desist letter.
She says the unrest amongst citizens isn't about one or two people being upset, but about leaders not listening to what is being said.
They've ignored so many things and they are not being transparent.
And the citizens are the ones driving this.
Not me as an individual, not Tyler, not Jen, not Megan as individuals.
This is citizen-driven.
APTN reached out to MNS with the comments made by those who received cease and desist letters.
They declined further comment.
MNS is having their next Métis Legislative Assembly on September 6th and 7th at Prairieland Park in Saskatoon.
Jennifer Lewitz is a former conservative staffer and a member of the Métis Nation of Saskatchewan.
And she was among dozens of people hit with cease and desist letters after posing serious questions about the nation's governance.
The legal threat letter that she received accused Lewitz of harassing the leadership of the Métis Nation of Saskatchewan and, to quote directly, falsely perpetrating untrue communications that redacted is Métis, but not your kind of Métis, and falsely claiming redacted as an unelected rando from Quebec.
These communications by statement, interference, or innuendo are blatantly untrue, are harmful, unjustified, and in some instances may give rise to a legal claim against you as they have caused and are continuing to cause reputational harm and other damages, including significant mental harm and anguish to redacted, and for which our client will hold you fully accountable.
Now, Lewitz denies she did anything other than quote one of the leaders directly about his own Métis heritage.
However, Lewitz has now been barred from attending meetings for asking about financial oversight.
But Jennifer Lewitz won't be silent.
Dealing with Bigger Advocacy Challenges00:06:06
Even though her story has been largely ignored by the mainstream media, Lewitz is tonight on the gun show to discuss the futile attempts to silence those Métis voices calling for change and transparency.
Here's her story.
So joining me now is Jennifer Lewitz.
She is from Saskatchewan.
Jennifer, before we get into why we're talking to each other today, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself, your background, and where your focus of your political activism is?
Yeah, so I am from Saskatchewan.
I'm from a First Nation community in southern Saskatchewan.
I've lived here my entire life.
University of Saskatchewan alumni.
My background is in political science with a proficiency in Indigenous governance.
So a lot of my career was first and foremost in government.
I worked for a conservative MP from Saskatchewan for over six years and then wanted to take that experience of knowing the inside and outside of government into political advocacy.
So I've been kind of a fierce voice in the Indigenous realm for breaking down the barriers for Indigenous people to exist in whatever political camp they see fit.
And then also strengthening governance.
So a lot of my work now is revitalizing nations and getting us into a place of long-term sustainability, prosperity, and self-reliance.
That's a big thing is to get out of that cycle of relying on government.
And yeah, so that's where a lot of my advocacy has been.
And it hasn't been a smooth ride, but it's been a ride nonetheless.
So.
Yeah, it sounds to me like you have some expertise in Indigenous governance and I think in accountability and sort of what needs to happen to get certain First Nations to a certain level of self-sustainability.
And how does that run you into the Métis Nation of Saskatchewan?
What problems, I guess, did you identify there?
There's, you know, when it comes to Indigenous governance, it's obviously very complex, no matter if you're dealing with First Nations, if you're dealing with Métis people.
But for me personally, a lot of my takes are rooted in ensuring that we're taking the capacity that the federal government is giving us and actually legitimately creating long-term sustainable solutions.
So when I'm observing government structures that are almost creating more, you know, self-reliance or whatever it might be, that's kind of where my focus goes.
And then when I start noticing, you know, that high-level corruption, that's what really the light bulb goes on because in our systems, there's so much that people don't understand.
And it's very easy for people to say, oh, there's corruption, there's mismanagement, but a lot of the time it's just dealing with crappy systems.
But with the Métis nation of Saskatchewan, it was very interesting because my local regional director from the city I live in was actually suspended from the table until she apologized to the CEO.
And that's where the alarm bell started going off for me because I was like, whoa, whoa, whoa, a CEO in an Indigenous governance is already unique in itself because that's not typical in government structures in federal politics, provincial politics, and Indigenous government.
So I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa, a CEO, like this isn't a corporation.
And, you know, I had seen their press conference, I had seen their statements where they were, you know, being told that they had allegedly harassed the CEO.
Their complaints against him were unfounded, but his were upheld.
And when I started kind of digging deeper, I'm like, where did the CEO come from within the ministry and the federal government with the Métis nation?
Because they used to be under third-party management.
Because when a government can't manage themselves, the federal government essentially comes in, allegedly, in my opinion, to help you manage yourself.
And this guy was working on the government side of things.
And then before you know it, he's the CEO.
And then there's an MNLA last fall, which is their legislative body, essentially, have a meeting and he's presented a Métis card.
But he's, you know, from Quebec or Ontario, one of the two.
And all of a sudden, he's given a Métis card.
So I guess there were a lot of questions regarding that.
How did this come to be?
And, you know, we're seeing even during the Bill C5 meetings, we're seeing the president shaking hands with the prime minister.
And we're like, oh, everything looks really good on paper.
But behind the scenes, we have people asking questions that are barred from the table.
I've went through their annual report and I'm seeing, you know, $117 million from the federal government to operate.
And I'm like, what is going on?
And I have never been threatened legally so quickly by a body ever.
And that was what raised questions for me.
It was like they were attacking academics, activists, Métis lawyers.
And I was like, there's a bigger, there's a bigger picture here for sure.
So, and we'll get to, you know, the legal threats leveled at yourself and basically anybody who is asking any questions.
But what specific questions do you think are not being answered here?
You sort of touched on a few, but I see people protesting looking for a forensic audit.
I had no idea, not that I had no idea, but for me to go to my local community, I can actually just go online and see where all the money's going.
And I don't think a lot of Canadians understand that that is frequently not the case in Indigenous and Métis communities.
It's very interesting because First Nations is a lot different.
I hear a lot of conversations where people say, you know, Justin Trudeau did get rid of the Transparency Act.
I would caution on that by saying that there are still, you know, almost like safety measures in place so that nation members aren't taken advantage of.
A lot of nations still submit their audits, but also the funding is so heavily regulated that if your reports aren't done, the funding is cut off.
ISC does still have that magnifying glass on nations.
Security Clearances and Scrutiny00:09:34
Granted, it's more bureaucratic now than it's ever been.
But with the Métis Nation, they're not under those same parameters.
So we're kind of going off of what we can see.
And it's a little bit more tricky because it almost seems like they're not even under, in my opinion, as much scrutiny as First Nations are.
So it's almost like this body that a lot of people aren't paying much attention to.
That I'm like, whoa, like, look at this.
This is.
This is a government.
It's not.
It's registered, I believe, as a nonprofit, maybe.
I don't even know how that's done, but the federal government is funding them to the tune of over $100 million a year.
And it doesn't seem like many people are paying attention to that.
So that's where my questions came in is like, how are they managed?
How is the federal government ensuring safe, like safe barriers in there so that it's not mismanaged, it's not misused, so there's no corruption or fraud or any of those things.
But I didn't see as much heavy scrutiny on them as I do with nations.
So, but how is how does the governance structure work?
You know, is it, you know, like voting, like municipal elections?
How do you find out who, how do you determine who's in charge?
Well, that's a really, that's a really good question because that brings us back to the conversation around the CEO.
It is a democracy, quote unquote.
I would caution heavily.
I use using the word democracy when I'm getting threatened legally.
But there is voting.
There was just an election that took place this spring where they are trying to advance themselves as a government, but then you're seeing elected officials suspended from the table indefinitely until they apologize to a CEO.
So the CEO holds a lot of centralized power in my, in my opinion, and he's able to make those decisions.
And that's where a lot of the questions come in because CEOs are not typical in government structures.
So it's also new for us.
And we're like, how do we actually ensure there's transparency when you can put that power into the hands of somebody like a CEO or a COO at the top and then hide behind the cloak of don't attack employees, don't attack private citizens, but they're playing central roles.
Right.
From what I can understand outside looking in, they're sort of trying to make this a workplace harassment issue when it's simply people wanting to know where all the money's going.
What sort of sent off red flags about the finances for you?
One of the biggest red flags was when my regional representative told me that she has not been privy to his contract.
So that was a major red flag for me when I'm like, you mean to tell me that you're sitting at the governance table as a member of the PMC, which is the provincial Métis Council, as a former minister in that self-government as a regional representative, and she is not privy to that contract.
She cannot look me in the face and tell me how much money that CEO makes a year.
I understand that there are certain contracts and public employees, you know, that are, you know, I was, I'm a civil public servant that my salary was not public, but it wasn't a lot of money.
But we know when you're a CEO, you're at the top level.
And not only that, when I read the motion that was passed a couple months ago, stating that he is being given a payout because of those harassment allegations that is published on their website as a motion to pay him out a settlement regarding those harassment allegations.
How much was the settlement?
Who did this investigation?
What do they determine harassment is?
And why is he still employed?
I don't know any other instance where a government gives someone essentially hush money.
Normally you sign a release and see you later.
Here's your money.
And we're going to continue protecting you while these elected officials are still suspended from the table.
And so the elected officials get suspended from the table, but people start asking questions.
You're one of them, but I mean, it's normal people.
It's prominent people.
They want to know what's going on in the Métis government.
And then you all, well, most of you, almost simultaneously get hit with a legal threat.
Cease and desist.
Shut up.
You're harassing us.
You know, what does that look like?
Does it send a chill across everybody?
You don't seem like you're being quiet, but I imagine there are a few people who are just like, I can't deal with this.
There are a few.
I think that this, their hope was that this would scare people enough to silence them.
You know, I am privileged in the fact that I come with a lot of knowledge and expertise in governance.
So it's really easy for me to debunk a lot of the arguments that are coming in, like saying, oh, don't harass a public citizen or a private citizen.
But I mean, you have a CEO in your government.
Most governments don't have CEOs.
So it's kind of the argument there.
It's easy to kind of dismantle some of that.
But for me, it is concerning because there are a lot of conversations around Indigenous governance where there's the non-Indigenous people that are scared to ask questions because we've created this culture of it's going against reconciliation.
It's going against being a good ally when you point fingers or you ask questions.
But the corruption can almost breed in those type of environments that we're creating.
So I also feel a sense of responsibility where it's like, well, you know, as an Indigenous person and someone that's, you know, paved my own way through life, I put myself through school.
You know, there's never been handouts.
I've always worked hard.
I own my own home.
I almost feel this sense of responsibility to be one of the ones that comes in and says, whoa, whoa, whoa, this is actually not right.
Here is not only the questions I'm asking, but I want to give everyone the tools to ask those questions so that not only we have governance structures that function, but we also can be proud of what we're putting out there publicly that the rest of Canada and taxpayers are watching.
Because right now it's embarrassing.
It feels embarrassing.
Yeah, I mean, I think it is the right of every Canadian to know what their government's doing.
It just seems like such a basic thing.
And then to find out people who are asking questions of the Métis nation that they're getting hit with these cease and desist letters.
Now, give me a College Notes version of what your cease and desist letter said.
Yeah, so it was actually like really a silly cease and desist in my most humble opinion, because it came really quickly.
And I think they were very sloppy in the fact that they, there were two things that they are not happy with me about.
The first is that I called him an unelected rando from Quebec.
So that one is interesting because they're fighting about the fact that he's a private citizen.
So yes, you are unelected.
In my personal opinion, you're a rando.
I don't know you.
I don't know where you came from.
And then from Quebec, even if you're from Quebec or Ontario or Alberta or BC, in anyone's minds, why is that defamation?
Why are you upset that that's brought up?
The second piece, like it's just a fact.
And then the second piece is they took from my Twitter thread where I said he was reportedly asked whether or not he was Métis.
And he reportedly and allegedly said, not your kind of Métis.
But they paraphrased in the cease and desist and said that I basically said he's not our kind of Métis, but that's not what I said.
So it was very strange in that regard.
And what was the most concerning was at the end when they told me that I am now barred from their meetings.
So I have never signed a code of conduct.
I have never been disruptive in any of their meetings.
And, you know, I have an older, elder Métis grandmother that I can now no longer take to any Métis meeting because I will probably be kicked out.
And if I don't comply, I'll probably be arrested.
So that is absolutely outrageous.
And I saw you pointing out on your Facebook page that you have security clearance.
You can wander the halls of the House of Commons of this country.
And yet, you can't go and find out what's going on at your local government.
Yeah, being a previous staffer, I obviously don't have security clearance anymore, but I haven't broken the law since then.
Yes, I had, you know, not the very top security clearance, but it was reliability clearance.
I worked for a member of parliament.
There's been times I've scanned in, went into the House of Commons, I've run into ministers, I've crossed the halls with MPs, I've spoken face to face with national political party leaders.
There's never been a concern there.
I was just in the premier of Saskatchewan's office during budget day with some chiefs that I work with.
Never been an issue ever.
But now at this level, I'm treated like a criminal.
And I also would ask: is everyone that's involved in your governance structure also able to pass a security clearance?
Have they, if they were to move to the federal government structure, that's a question I'd be willing to ask.
Well, and you know, just getting back to the cease and desist letters, they aren't cheap.
You know, in the course of work, I work, you know, with lawyers quite a fair bit.
And, you know, lawyers, every little bit of their time costs money.
And to send out like dozens and dozens of cease and desist letters, that's a lot of money.
And, you know, when you're asking questions about where's all the money going, and then they waste a bunch of money paying lawyers to shut people up.
It only poses more questions.
Especially because it goes down to the conversation.
You know, I know the minister of ethics or justice or self-determination, whatever the name is today that's being used, he was recorded on AP10 saying, you know, no programs have been affected by this.
And it's like, well, like, if you take money from one place and spend it, it's less money that you have.
Questions About Money Wasted00:06:40
Like, that's just simple math at this point.
But also, it's, it's the infamous, well, we're still helping people.
We're giving them services.
We're giving them programs.
It's textbook.
Don't ask any questions because at least we're delivering something.
And I have seen that out of some of the critics.
I won't lie.
I do have some of their critics that come in my comment sections.
It's been interesting because there's always some connection back to some of them have the same last name as the president.
The president's wife is liking comments.
Like, it's come on.
It's clear.
It's like, yeah, well, they're doing more for citizens now than they ever have.
It's like, yeah, but they're receiving a lot of money from the federal government now.
Back in the day when I first remember the Métis Nation, it isn't what it is now.
The government is heavily supporting them.
There's a lot of funding there, just like they are in any nation right now because of the governance building piece.
But just because they're delivering programs doesn't mean people don't have a right to ask questions.
Like that doesn't even make sense in any free and open democracy.
So what comes next?
I guess what comes next with you trying to get transparency and accountability?
And then I guess I'll pose a second part to that question.
How do we fix this?
Because this seems like it's a systemic hole that they are wiggling through.
I think there's two pieces.
There's the fight that can't stop.
And it's also ensuring that when these types of things happen, we don't back down easily because people are watching and they want to know that there's safety and there's a path forward for using your voice in these instances and taking on that piece of self-responsibility where it's like as Indigenous people, we have a responsibility to be holding these people accountable.
And then the second piece is for the non-Indigenous people to not alienate us during this time.
You know, there's a lot of, there's a lot of stereotypes out there.
There's a lot of things that people have legitimate questions on.
Don't paint us all at the same brush.
Some of us are your friends.
We are your neighbors.
We are your, you know, we're a part of your same society and we want the exact same things you do.
So I'm asking, you know, don't come with the racist hammer and thinking we're all bad people because we're not.
There's some of us that are fighting for that accountability and transparency and we need that allyship right now.
Yeah, it's just watch carefully the ones that are being silenced and what that looks like.
And, you know, make the connections back to the government too, because the government does play a role.
You know, I've looked up who some of the former lobbyists are for the Métis Nation.
And when I go to the lobby registry, which is public, and I see old former ministers' names like Sheila Cox, there's a lot of questions there.
So just paying attention to kind of all the moving pieces and don't think it's just immune to our little fight internally.
It always connects back to other government structures almost always.
Good grief.
Is there not a corrupt thing that Sheila Cox is not involved in?
That woman.
She's like an octopus.
She's got hands and everything.
Is there a legislative piece that you think needs to change here?
That's a hard one because I'm not a fan of creating more governments.
I am very much like I want to live quietly in my home in Saskatchewan and be left alone from government.
So I'm like, I don't want more government.
It never ends good.
Like to me, it's that self-responsibility piece where like we have to take responsibility for ourselves, for our kids.
We have to raise them right.
I know I just had a thread on Twitter about this that that's really the only thing that's going to fix this is when we start getting back to good values and raising our kids to be respectful and follow the law.
And then we lead by example.
Like there's it, it's really a matter of you cannot put your interests above anyone else's.
And that goes for politicians in any capacity.
The minute you start doing that and you're more worried about protecting your power and your position, everything else falls apart.
I think too, you know, you can't be scared.
Like you just can't be scared.
You know who's scared right now?
The people at the top in the Métis Nation.
They're very scared.
They're the ones sending out the cease and desist letters.
They're scared of the normal people.
And I think it's important for the normal people to remember that they really do hold more power than they think they do.
Oh, for sure.
Like I often wonder whether or not they think what I've said publicly is all that I know about the situation because I'm a very thorough person and my DMs are a wild ride.
And I know, you know, there's been talk that I've even been discussed at that table, allegedly.
And, you know, there's been accusations that I'm even working for the women that have been suspended from the table and I'm hired by them.
And I would love to challenge that legally, but it's okay, apparently, on other people's fronts to say whatever they want to, except for us on the bottom.
So now, Jennifer, I know you do this basically out of the love of transparency and accountability.
Is there a way that people can support what you're doing or learn more about what you're doing?
Yeah, I guess just, you know, take the time, take the time to listen to our videos and our posts.
I know, you know, some of these people are new to the media realm and they're new to the communications realm that some of their posts, you know, it might not seem as structured and as to the point because they're new, right?
Like some of these people are new to talking about government and what it looks like to exist in government spaces.
So give us grace, give us patience, and don't just listen to the loudest voices.
You know, there's some smaller guys out there that are really trying to paint some accountability across government structures.
They're just not as listened to.
And also make sure that people are listening to the media outlets exactly like yourself and APTN and some of the ones that are willing to hear us out because people automatically go to mainstream media waiting for the legitimacy and thinking that mainstream media are the ones that are going to provide that.
But we're being threatened legally and we're being silenced and mainstream media has been nowhere to be found.
And that's been really frustrating.
Yeah, I think at the end of the day, as Canadians, we all want the same thing by and large.
I think we all want, well, most of us want smaller government and smaller government, my dog, smaller government that is more accountable to the people that they are supposed to serve, that they should serve the people and not themselves.
And I think that that goes across all backgrounds.
Yeah, for sure.
I agree with that.
Well, Jennifer, thank you so much for speaking with me.
And thank you for being brave enough to keep talking even when people want to shut you up.
As regular viewers know, the last portion of the show belongs to you.
Kian's Investigation Threat00:11:25
That's why I give you my email address right now.
I want to know what you thought about my interview with Jennifer Lewitz and what you think about transparency in all government, not just Indigenous government and the people's right to know what their government is doing behind closed doors, or if the government should have a right to close the doors to the people that they work on behalf of.
So I'll give you my email address.
Like I said, it's sheila at rebelnews.com.
Send me an email, put gun show letters in the subject line so I know why you're emailing me and you might just see your email read on air.
Now, speaking of the government trying to silence people, I don't know if you saw this week, but our Rebel News alumnus who is now over at Tejuno/slash countersignal, Kian Bexty, he got a threat and he is being investigated by Elections Canada for his reporting during the writ period, particularly on Thomas Keeper,
a Liberal candidate in Calgary.
Take a listen to the video that Kian published about what's happening to him.
I am being criminally investigated.
I just received the letter from the government from the Office of Canada's Election Commissioner informing me that I'm being investigated for my reporting during Canada's 45th general election.
The stories in question detail the alleged history of Thomas Keeper, someone you probably know of by now.
He's the now fired Liberal candidate for Calgary Confederation.
Juno News worked diligently to ensure the accuracy of what we published, and nothing then or now undermines its truth.
We went above and beyond to ensure that we were reporting facts that were in the public interest.
We not only gave the Liberal candidate, Thomas Keeper, chance after chance to answer very troubling allegations, he refused.
I even hand-delivered an envelope with our questions to his office.
And instead of responding, he called the police on me and lied, accusing me of assault.
Now, the entire encounter was recorded, caught on camera, and the video makes it abundantly clear that his allegation was false.
And within hours of our publication, what do you know?
The Liberal Party fired him.
Some conservatives wish that we had waited, that our newsroom had held the story until after the nomination so that Keeper would be stuck on the ballot after the nomination deadline and it would secure the seat for conservatives.
But journalism is not about party strategy.
It's about informing the public during an election, no less.
And that's what we did.
Now, Mark Carney, he's furious and he's using an authoritarian law implemented by Justin Trudeau to investigate me for the crime of reporting news that humiliated the Liberal Party of Canada.
In Iran, I'd be executed for embarrassing the regime.
In North Korea, I'd be sent to a labor camp.
In China, I'd be carted off to some off-the-book black site and never heard from again.
And in Canada, in Canada, I'm threatened with up to five years in federal prison and a devastating $50,000 fine.
I don't know how long this fight will last or if I'll be in prison by this time next year, but I do know this.
If it goes to trial, I will take it to the Supreme Court of Canada.
And those justices, six of nine who were appointed by Justin Trudeau, will be forced to declare once and for all whether freedom of the press still exists in this country.
A more complete picture of this investigation, including the commissioner's letter that I just read, will be published at defendjuno.com.
You can read it for yourself.
It's all there.
So some of you may know that I am also the president of the Independent Press Gallery of Canada.
I am tasked with doing what I can to advocate on behalf of independent journalists and in the name of freedom of the press.
Wherever a journalist is hassled or censored, I try to do what I can to advance their rights.
And so I just want to read to you what we wrote at the Independent Press Gallery in defense of Kian Bextie.
And I should tell you that I have been investigated by Elections Alberta for the crime of writing a book and then publishing it during the writ period.
The book was on Rachel Notley.
It was called Stop Notley.
And I was investigated because to promote the book, I had lawn signs that said Stop Notley.
The book was called Stop Notley, but they tried to say that that was an election finance violation instead of a marketing campaign for a book.
So I know what Kian's going through here.
We said at the Independent Press Gallery that the Independent Press Gallery of Canada condemns the criminal investigation launched against journalists Kian Bexty and Juno News under section 91.1 of the Canada Elections Act.
Bexy is facing potential charges for his reporting on liberal candidate Thomas Kieper, reporting that was sourced, corroborated, and followed by the Liberal Party itself, dropping Keeper from the ballots.
They don't seem to be suing Keen for the substance of his claims.
They are suing him or threatening to investigate him, I'm sorry, for the timing of his reporting.
When are you supposed to report on the liberal candidate in the election, except in the election?
Right?
Section 911 has already been ruled unconstitutional by Ontario courts and condemned as vague, unnecessary, and dangerous to free expression.
Using it against independent media is censorship by prosecution and a chilling threat to democracy itself.
This case is part of a disturbing pattern.
In the 2025 election campaign, it was rife with targeting of independent journalists by the Liberal Party and its leader, Mark Carney.
Journalists from independent outlets, including Juneau News, were repeatedly barred from Kearney's press conferences where police were even used to keep reporters from asking questions.
Now, post-election victory, the Liberal government is escalating from exclusion to criminalization through the abuse of an overreaching and purposefully murky law.
The IPG stands with Juneau News.
Censorship by prosecution cannot be allowed to replace accountability.
Free elections require a free press.
If you're watching this and you are an independent journalist, I suggest you head on over to independentpressgallery.ca and join.
You get a press card and training on defamation.
We just did a defamation training and we have other skills development seminars with lawyers that you can ask questions to in the works.
So independentpressgallery.ca.
Now, I wanted to see what you guys were saying about what's happening to Keen.
So I went over to the comment section on the interview that Ezra did on his show as I'm recording this Wednesday.
So I think it was on Tuesday's show.
Rochelle says, the public have a right to know the character of whom they are voting for.
When confronted, Mr. Keeper lied about being assaulted.
That is true, actually, and called the police.
That right there proves what his character is.
Calling the police and lying is a crime, and he made false allegations about Mr. Bexty, as the video proves.
That is true.
He had a chance to respond to questions and add up a lie to avoid answering them instead.
That doesn't look good for him.
Yeah.
Keon tried to put what he had to Mr. Keeper, as is your responsibility as a journalist.
If you are making allegations against someone, you need to give them the right to respond.
And Kian did that, but instead of responding, Mr. Keeper engaged in what I would suggest is a waste of police resources and a false claim of assault.
Captured on video.
And now he's filed, or someone has complained to Elections Canada.
Canada Suburb says the Liberal Party kicked him out.
It wasn't Keeper.
He was devastated, reliable witness here.
Well, I'd like to see what evidence you have.
Alpha Skeptic says the voting public needs to know the facts about those who run for election.
Unlike the mainstream media, Rebel Juneau, Keon, and other independents work hard to provide the information that informed electors need to cast their votes.
And again, if Keeper didn't do the things, whatever it is that Kian says that he was doing, whatever it is that anybody says that he was doing, when someone gives you the right to respond, now's your chance.
You can't say they said things about me and didn't give me the right to respond.
Kean gave them a right to respond, which would protect him from any defamation lawsuit, which is why they're not suing him for defamation.
I think.
Thomas Law, LL1HW, says, What did Mr. Keeper allegedly do exactly?
Very suspicious that the Liberals opted not to run their candidate.
You obviously found something of substance.
You know what?
I'll just show you what Keeper did.
This is from Juneau.
They say, our exclusive report detailed first-hand accounts from multiple sources who claim Keeper engaged in a pattern of abusive behavior.
One source, Brett Pierce, so Kian even named his sources, recalled his unsettling conversation with Keeper.
He said, he was talking about how whenever he wants to have sex with his wife, he just forces her to do so.
I said, is she okay with that?
He's like, I'm her husband.
She has to be okay with it.
Another Calgary businessman who has had intimate dinner conversations with Keeper told Juno News the subject of the liberal candidate's marriage came up so often that he finally challenged him.
She complains about him forcing himself on her.
She's like, it's horrible, the witness recounted.
Additional accounts from former associates described a public incident where Keeper's behavior turned violent.
These allegations, among others detailing verbal abuse and disregard for consent, paint a picture of a candidate whose private conduct stands in stark contrast to the image he projected on the campaign trail.
In the wake of Juneau's report, Thomas Keeper withdrew his candidacy.
Juneau reached out for the Liberal Party, reached out to the Liberal Party for clarification regarding their vetting process.
And the report is based on direct recorded interviews and corroborated first-hand testimony.
Any allegations remain unproven in a court of law.
Kean did reach out to Thomas Keeper directly, and he chose to instead file a false police report.
So, and now since that didn't work, the Liberal Party is using Elections Canada to go after Kean.
And this is just a pattern of abuse and behavior of those in charge to use the systems before them against the people asking the questions.
Liberal Party Targets Kean00:00:15
And if you want to support Kian Bexty and Juno News, you can go to defendjuno.com because I believe he's going to need a little bit of help.
Well, everybody, that's the show for tonight.
Thank you so much for tuning in.
I'll see everybody back here in the same time, in the same place next week.