The Media Accountability Project  

Your focus on the fact that the amended motion contains no commitment to sever institutional ties with Israel is a necessary demand for balance.

We call upon you to remind your personnel of their obligation to conduct themselves in a manner befitting the journalistic profession. They must do at least the bare minimum of asking follow up questions of their interview subjects, rather than leaving every last assertion unchallenged. What self-respecting journalist or media outlet could possibly argue that this is asking too much?

The article did a very good job at including pro-Palestinian perspectives, including giving space to demonstrator Zev Saltiel, a member of Independent Jewish Voices Montreal and Montreal Anti-Apartheid who specified that the same man approached the crowd and began directing insults at people there. 

Can the National Post please confirm that corrections will be made in order for this comment to align with the standard of accuracy as per Canadian Association of Journalists ethics guidelines?

The article is one-sided. It quotes Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada at length, in three separate passages, and closes with a direct quote from the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), a pro-Israel lobby group. No pro-Palestinian perspective is included anywhere in the piece. This is unbalanced reporting.

CBC’s description mischaracterizes the motion by replacing its explicit reference to solidarity with the Palestinian people and civilian victims in West Asia with the incorrect statement “civilian victims of the Israeli conflict.”

This is not the case. The screenshot below shows parts of the motion that were amended. The motion specifically cited international human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and others, that have characterized Israel’s actions as acts of genocide. 

However, the segment only quotes CIJA. This is unbalanced reporting. In the interest of balanced reporting, the segment should have included other perspectives as well.

Nous insistons à ce que des articles traitant de déclarations et d'appels de groupes de la société civile incluent une diversité de perspectives, le devoir d'impartialité étant central au travail de journalisme.

On August 21, 2026, CJPME media analyst Anthony Issa published Opinion: As a Lebanese-Montrealer, Projet Montréal’s motion on Israel is a local matter for me in the Montreal Gazette, a major english newspaper in the city. It was published ahead of Montreal City Council’s August 24 vote on a Projet Montréal's motion  for the city to cut ties with Israel.

This op-ed challenges the framing of Palestine as a distant international issue, making the case that Montreal’s elected officials have a responsibility to respond to issues that directly affect their communities.

The publication provided CJPME with a prominent platform in one of Montreal’s major newspapers to challenge the framing of Palestine as a distant foreign-policy issue and advance a community-based perspective on the responsibilities of Montreal’s elected officials. The placement also allowed MAP to shape public discourse around a major municipal debate.

CJPME extends its gratitude to the Montreal Gazette for providing space for this important discussion on Palestine and Montreal’s Arab community.