Episode 6.33 - The Western (Lowered) Standard

In 2019, Derek Fildebrandt revived Ezra Levant's former publication th Western Standard and set about building a media empire out of Western Canada that was predicated on (among other things) not accepting any government funding. But can they really say that they don't accept any government funding and that they don't get taxpayer money? Over that last 6 months we've completed a series of FOIP's that show that The Western Standard has indeed been getting taxpayer funds. Not only has the government of Alberta been paying the Western Standard for their content and for subscriptions, but they've also been directing taxpayer dollars to the Western Standard for Advertising as well! Which is all pretty "conflict-of-interesty" given the fact that the WS was the previous media home of Danielle Smith and two of her highest ranking officials! We unpack all of that an more in this episode! Don't forget, we now have merch that's available at www.abpoli.ca, including a spring lineup! As always, if you appreciate the kind of content that we’re trying to produce here at The Breakdown, please consider signing up as a monthly supporter at our Patreon site at www.patreon.com/thebreakdownab. If you’re listening to the audio version of our podcast, please consider leaving us a review and a rating, and don’t forget to like and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Threads!