"Sarah goes on to reduce spotting a Palestinian flag at the convention to the NDP being a single-issue party. That is a talking point that is being trotted out and beaten to death by corporate media."
To the CTV Newsroom,
I am writing on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (www.cjpme.org) regarding your news segment aired on CTV 2 Alberta (CJAL) - Alberta Primetime (Thursday, April 2, 2026, 06:15), which platformed falsehoods by one of your political panel guest that remained unchallenged by the host.
In the segment about the NDP Leadership Convention, Sarah Elder makes the following claims:
“When Avi Lewis was announced as the winner, you can see the shot right here, there was a Palestinian flag and, you know, there were no Canadian flags. There was no Canadian pride. There was no sense of anything Canada.”
To take one shot of a Convention in the York Ballroom of Winnipeg’s RBC Convention Centre, which has a capacity of up to 1,730 people and portray it as representative of the whole room is deceptive.
Firstly, the NDP branding has a maple leaf in it. Secondly, there were Canadian flags at the event, which makes Sarah’s statement a falsehood, intentional or not, which should be corrected. I have attached a photo that was easy enough to find online.
Source: https://x.com/jslaterTO/status/2038479285422375234
Sarah goes on to reduce spotting a Palestinian flag at the convention to the NDP being a single-issue party. That is a talking point that is being trotted out and beaten to death by corporate media.
If her ultimate point is that the new NDP leader’s platform doesn’t address the main concerns of Canadians, she should do so by having an intelligent and meaningful discussion about the vision he put forward in his campaign and let the viewers decide.
I think even Albertans are interested in more than just talk of pipelines. They would also be fascinated to hear Sarah’s take on why his vision of a government that serves the many, not the money: public ownership, worker power, climate justice, and an economy built on care is not in their best interest.
In addition, circling back to her willingness to cast Palestinians who have been subjected to apartheid and occupation for decades and a genocide for the past two and half years with the support of our government as some foreign policy issue that has nothing to do with your viewers — it is beyond shameful and just simply not true.
The host could have referenced polls by Angus Reid that indicate that most Canadians support greater action on Palestinian rights. He could have stated that more than half of Canadians consider what Israel is doing a genocide. At the same time, our government just voted against a bill that would close the loophole that allows us to continue sending weapons to Israel via the United States. We are dangerously close to being drawn into a larger conflict with Iran, and are increasing our military spending, all of which impact Canadians.
I believe this political panel segment raises questions about fairness, accuracy, and balance in coverage. Ethical journalism requires rigorous fact-checking, fairness, and transparency, especially when covering important political events.
I hope you will consider correcting the record on the flag issue and take the time to have meaningful discussions on the NDP platform on a future broadcast so that Canadians can make informed decisions.
I would appreciate a response outlining any steps taken to address these issues.
Sincerely,
Nikki Mutch
Media Advocate
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East