The ''Western Standard'' is a Canadian political and

social commentary Social commentary is the act of using rhetorical means to provide commentary on social, cultural, political, or economic issues in a society. This is often done with the idea of implementing or promoting change by informing the general populace ab ...

media website operated by Western Standard New Media Corp. and its president Derek Fildebrandt. The Standard is based in Calgary, Alberta, where its main offices are located. The Standard also has bureaus in Victoria, Vancouver, Edmonton, Regina, Winnipeg and Ottawa. Fildebrandt is the majority shareholder. Dave Naylor, a former city editor with the

Calgary Sun The ''Calgary Sun'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is owned by Postmedia. First published in 1980, the tabloid-format daily replaced the long-running tabloid-size newspaper ''The Albertan'' soon after it was acq ...

, joined as news editor and a minority shareholder. All of the company's shareholders reside in Alberta. The Standard's revenue is generated through subscriptions and advertising. The company obtained "Qualified Canadian Journalism Organization" status in 2022, which permits it to apply for government payroll subsidies. Fildebrandt said he had no plans to apply for any subsidies, but applied for QCJO status "just for fun."

History

Ezra Levant co-founded the ''Western Standard'', in 2004 as an Alberta-based magazine with an emphasis on Western Canada and political conservatism. Levant later sold the publication's remaining assets to Matthew Johnson, the former legislative aide to former Conservative Party MP Rahim Jaffer. In October 2007, the magazine ceased publication of its print edition after failing to become profitable. It existed briefly as an online magazine, which quickly became stagnant. On October 23, 2019, Derek Fildebrandt bought the rights to the magazine from Johnston and relaunched it as a conservative news and commentary website. Johnston occasionally contributes columns to the relaunched site. In 2021, the Western Standard opened bureaus in Victoria, Vancouver, Edmonton, Regina, and Winnipeg. In 2022, it added a bureau in Ottawa. The Western Standard obtained "Qualified Canadian Journalism Organization" status with the Canada Revenue Agency in 2022, permitting it to apply for government news subsidies. Fildebrandt said the Standard will not apply for any government subsidies and applied for QCJO status "just for fun."

Controversies

Publication of ''Jyllands-Posten'' Muhammad cartoons

On February 13, 2006, the ''Western Standard'' published the ''Jyllands-Posten'' Muhammad cartoons depicting unflattering images of

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monot ...

. Syed Soharwardy, a Calgary

Imam Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, se ...

and president of the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada, complained about the publication to the Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission. On December 21, 2007, Johnston apologized directly to Soharwardy and Canada's Muslim community for the publication of the cartoons and Soharwardy withdrew his complaint against the magazine. Levant refused to apologize and a hearing was scheduled for January 2008. On the day of the hearing, Levant republished the cartoons on his personal website.Human rights complaint dismissal spurs more debate
Paul Lungen, Canadian Jewish News, August 21, 2008. (Retrieved 21 October 2008). At the request of Levant and his lawyers, Levant was allowed to videotape his interview with Shirlene McGovern, a human rights investigator with the Alberta Human Rights Commission. Levant later posted the videos on YouTube. On February 15, 2008, Soharwardy announced he was withdrawing his complaint against Levant. He said in a guest column for The Globe and Mail that publishing the cartoons "was irresponsible and was intended to cause strife," but acknowledged their publication "may not fall outside the limits of free speech." In August 2008, the Alberta Human Rights and Citizenship Commission rejected a similar complaint against Levant made by the Edmonton Council of Muslim Communities.

Retraction of restaurant and social gathering story

On June 9, 2021, the Western Standard reported that Premier Jason Kenney, Minister of Environment and Parks Jason Nixon and Minister of Health Tyler Shandro had been regularly ignoring their own COVID-19 restrictions since the start of 2021. The reporting relied on sources that the Western Standard kept anonymous''.'' The story reported they had arranged for secret social gatherings at Bottega 104, a restaurant in downtown Edmonton. The article also reported that Kenney attended social functions at the private residence of a lobbyist''.'' At the time, COVID-19 protocols in Alberta restricted restaurants to takeout and delivery service, and private gatherings in homes were limited. Kenney called the story "false and defamatory," and had a cease-and-desist letter sent to Fildebrandt and the Western Standard. Brock Harrison, a spokesperson for the premier's office, wrote on Twitter that the story was "a total fabrication with no basis in fact" and said the Western Standard did not try to get comment from the premier's office. It was later revealed The Western Standard asked for comment at 5:49 p.m. MT, seven minutes before publishing the article. On June 11, 2021, Fildebrandt said the story "should not have been published" and fully retracted the story in a public apology.

References

External links