Evidence of meeting #130 for Public Safety and National Security in the 44th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was videos.
A video is available from Parliament.
As an Individual
I have not been asked to reimburse any of that money, but I have been visited by CSIS, which, quite frankly, has been putting immense psychological pressure on me to become an informant on this subject and other subjects. Ultimately, I declined because I am not looking to become an asset for foreign governments nor for this government, and I did not like the way in which CSIS threatened and stalked me.
I would like to know how much Canadians paid for that, by the way.
Bloc
Kristina Michaud Bloc Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia, QC
Thank you.
This past September, the UN reported that, since Russia began its illegal war on Ukraine in February 2022, 11,700 Ukrainian civilians had been killed and 24,600 wounded. That's an enormous number of people, and all of them civilians.
How do you feel knowing that you accepted money from a country that's conducting this war of aggression on Ukraine and that has caused thousands of deaths? Don't you find that unsettling?
As an Individual
You will never catch me speaking ill of the Ukrainian people. They are good people. It is horrific what is happening to them and the losses that are happening to their community. I hope that the suffering they are going through ends. I hope that the Ukrainian people will be free.
I do not want and never have wanted to be an agent of any state, an asset of any state, foreign or domestic. If that was happening, I have always, at any inkling, run the other way.
Liberal
NDP
Gord Johns NDP Courtenay—Alberni, BC
I only have one burning question left.
Do you take any steps whatsoever to verify that the people paying you are legitimate and don't have ulterior motives?
As an Individual
This would not be a question being asked of any individual working in media if not for the retrospect of this situation. I have had contracts. I have worked with many individuals. They have all looked the same as Tenet, and they have never come up with this problem. This is a very unique circumstance and, once again, I think the eyes of retrospect are playing heavily on your questioning.
NDP
Gord Johns NDP Courtenay—Alberni, BC
Given the situation and that Tenet is under investigation by the U.S. government, I think it does qualify as a reasonable question.
As an Individual
If you think there was an action I should have or could have taken that the average person would normally take, please do let me know, Mr. Johns.
NDP
Gord Johns NDP Courtenay—Alberni, BC
In the future, will you be making any significant efforts to ensure the people who are paying you are legitimate and don't have ulterior motives? Is this something you're going to incorporate into your future business model?
As an Individual
I have always worked very hard to ensure the things I am doing are legitimate, that I'm not being influenced by anyone. I've lost jobs over this.
There is a lot of money, as I'm sure you know—probably not the majority coming from Russia, probably more from China and other countries—going into politics, going into media and going into influencing what people think. The way I protect myself from that.... There is a completely messed up and influenced media organization ecosystem going on right now. I only sign contracts with people who give me full creative control, because right now, in this environment, that is the only way to protect yourself. If you are ever working for an organization that has creative control over you, you're going to find yourself in hot water. Quite frankly, that is the majority of media outlets within this country, too.
Gord Johns NDP Courtenay—Alberni, BC
Right now, are you telling us you're not going to take any different steps to ensure that the people who are paying you are legitimate and don't have ulterior motives?
As an Individual
The steps I'm taking are that I'm not going to work in media again, because I am tired of this subterranean fed-level nonsense going on. I would like to just go on with my normal life as a Canadian and not be harassed by CSIS, the government, or you people.
Liberal
Conservative
Glen Motz Conservative Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB
Thank you very much, Chair, and thank you, Ms. Southern, for being here.
My questions aren't intended to harass, but rather to find some information.
You're described as a social media influencer, someone who's a political activist and a commentator.
What are your objectives? What do you aim to achieve when you connect with an audience?
As an Individual
My aim has always been to speak for people who don't feel they have had a voice in mainstream media or regular media and to convey facts.
I'm a human being. Everyone that does media is a human being. I don't want people to follow me like I'm some sort of god, take everything I say as their opinion and to have 100% influence. I want to provide as much factual information as I can with data from my own research, or from on the ground, and let people take that information, look at a variety of different sources and come to their own conclusions. That is my hope for the work that I have done.
Conservative
Glen Motz Conservative Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB
You said this briefly in your opening, I believe, and in an answer to some of my colleagues' questions.
What motivated you or prompted you to start collaborating with Tenet Media? Was it the friendship only, or was it something else?
As an Individual
It was that. It's usually very good to be working with a media company when you are in the social media content creation environment. I had been independent for so long. It's very hard to do. It's very hard to fundraise for a studio, for equipment and to do films. I wanted to expand the type of films I was doing. Although, once again, it was underfunded, it was a larger budget for me to be able to do more interesting and higher quality work than I was doing before.
Conservative
Glen Motz Conservative Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB
That's fair enough.
You had indicated that you always put significant efforts into making original and thoughtful videos and that your contract gave you full editorial control. You have made that very clear today.
Have you ever been compensated to endorse a specific idea?
Conservative
Glen Motz Conservative Medicine Hat—Cardston—Warner, AB
Have you ever received information from another organization, an individual or a government for you to share on your social media platforms?
As an Individual
No, other than...like, not paid for. I've certainly had lots of people send me, “Hey, share this tweet. I just did an interview. Share this.” That's a very normal thing to happen in media.
