CTV has dropped two members of its news team after an altered clip of Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre went to air in a recent national news report, according to a statement from the network posted to social media.
The network said it “conducted an investigation to determine whether a breach of our editorial policies and practices had occurred in this case.” It said the probe found “two members of the CTV News team are responsible for altering a video clip, manipulating it for a particular story.”
The network said these actions “violate our editorial standards and are unacceptable.”
The statement did not name the former staff members.
“Those individuals are no longer members of the CTV News team,” it said.
Spokespeople for Bell, which owns CTV and CTV News, have not responded to multiple requests for comment from CBC News over the last three days.
The controversy stems from a CTV news report that first aired Sunday. It included an altered clip of Poilievre in a recent media scrum with reporters.
The Conservatives say CTV spliced together his words in a way that gave the impression that Poilievre was introducing a non-confidence motion — which would bring on an early election — because he wants to do away with the Liberal government’s fledgling dental care program.
In his scrum with reporters, Poilievre said: “That’s why it’s time to put forward a motion for a carbon tax election.”
On the CTV broadcast, Poilievre was heard saying: “That’s why we need to put forward a motion.” Those words came right after the network’s reporter read from a script that said there are “questions” about dental care’s “future” with the non-confidence motion looming.
Poilievre has not given a clear answer on what he will do with dental care if he becomes the next prime minister. He has not raised it as a reason to bring down the government.
Poilievre has said he wants a “carbon tax election” on whether to continue with the Liberal government’s climate policy of taxing fuels like oil and gas and rebating most of the proceeds to households.
Poilievre has called the CTV report “extremely dishonest” and “fraudulent.”
Mirko Bibic, president and CEO of BCE and Bell Canada, speaks during a CRTC hearing in Gatineau, Que., on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2020. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)
He lashed out at CTV’s parent company, Bell, citing a rating agency’s recent decision to downgrade its credit rating to “near junk status.” He accused CEO Mirko Bibic of being “overpaid,” said he “empties the books to pay his wealthy friends” and claimed the company pays “an unacceptably and unrealistically high dividend.”
Poilievre suggested, without evidence, that the news team behind the altered clip was somehow doing the bidding of Bibic.
“The reason why he and his other cronies at that company are going after me is because he knows that I’m standing up for the people against the crony capitalists and insiders like him,” Poilievre said.
In its statement on Thursday, CTV did not directly address Poilievre’s criticism.
“We sincerely and unreservedly apologize for the manner this report went to air and the false impression it created,” CTV said.
“Our duty to provide accurate, fair and balanced coverage of the issues that matter to Canadians, and to do so fully independently, is of the utmost importance to us.”