Host from Manitoba, reporter from Saskatchewan, zero dispute, zero follow-ups. David Common had two days to read the pushback on Carrie Tait and the Globe and Mail story. It was public. He couldn’t be bothered. Instead he front end loads the interview with performative bullcrap
“Republican operatives traveled from the US to Alberta to broker a potential deal.” No deal was brokered. The January meeting was a software pitch that ended unresolved. Sylvestre refused the list. The White House said nothing was committed. Common still opens with “broker”
“If you want to live in the United States, move to the United States. The vast majority of Albertans don’t want this.”
There it is. Albertans as a herd that needs a talking-down-to. That clip is the CBC house style, and it is a large part of why the province is this angry. Separation has never held above 30 percent. Annexation is less popular still. The Oct. 19 question is not a statehood application. Common lets the scolding stand
“Separatist leaders reportedly offered access to Alberta’s oil, fresh water and other assets.” Modry said it. Rath, who arranged the meetings, called the document stupid in the Globe piece, then said Modry denies telling them those things were discussed and called the story complete fiction. Sylvestre says water and oil never came up. Common does not mention any of that. Tait’s answer is that an on-the-record line is hard to reel back. A host’s job is to reel it back and ask which account is true. He didn’t
“At what point does this get called foreign interference?” Whenever CBC decides the premise apparently. Tait also hangs a 51st-state wish on Pete Hegseth. The Globe story gave that line to a pastor Hegseth has hosted. Common lets it pass
"But you're not going to see handcuffs anytime soon" 🤦♂️
Carrie Tait wrote a disputed story. David Common booked her and declined to dispute it. Albertans are two weeks from a vote, and the national broadcaster spent the segment talking down to them
@davidcommon @CarrieTait @brodiefenlon