I'd like to begin by welcoming witnesses from my community: Janis Cleugh and Mario Bartel of Freshet News. I want to thank them both for their decades of service.
Of course, when Glacier Media's Tri-City News closed last year, it was a devastating loss for our riding of Port Moody—Coquitlam. Why is this? It's because democracy only works when citizens can see the truth clearly, and that requires strong, independent journalism so that voters can make informed choices and hold leaders accountable.
Janis, you said, “This is dangerous”. This brings me to the matter of journalistic integrity and the journalist code of ethics. I would really like to drill down on this, if I could, with you and Mario.
With the advent of podcasts and online news, there's a great deal of misinformation. How are Freshet journalists trained, and is that the norm?