No way this is legal:
— Dean Skoreyko (@bcbluecon) October 1, 2022
“Starting October 3, a request form located on our website will need to be filled out 24 hours before sending [media] crews to the airport, whether reporting from inside a terminal or outside on the curbs, lands, and roadways that make up Toronto Pearson" https://t.co/MjoPOlf5Nw
Hey did you hear that Pearson Airport has a new policy? Starting this morning anybody traveling on an African nation's passport will be publicly stripped at the security check-in, beaten with baseball bats, and then forced at gunpoint to pull a wagon carrying those traveling on a European nation's passport. The policy expires at COB tonight.
That sounds like a huge news story. It would top international headlines for months. Every news outlet in the world would be anxious to show video of the practice.
Thanks to a new policy undertaken by the airport, the news media would never get their story. Global News and CBC would be unable to cover it, CNN and the BBC would fall silent, and the New York Times pages would be blank. Why? The airport no longer will allow newsmedia to enter the airport (or even be standing on the grass on the side of the road) without first getting a permit 24-hours in advance. Any horrible policy or action taken by the airport will go totally under the newsmedia radar as long as it happens within a single calendar day.
It is, as Dean notes, probably illegal. It's certainly a major chilling of journalism in Canada. There aren't many arguments in favour of it.
Enter me.
I'm not saying its a good policy or I want it to continue. However, what is a "media crew"? Obviously a CBC cameraman and reporter and boom operator make up a "media crew", as do David Menzies and a cameraman. Yet we all remember during the summer of endless Shiny Pony-caused flight delays that we saw videos like this:
Did that constitute a "media crew"? How about this?
I live at Toronto Pearson International airport. The worst place on earth. I smell so bad. pic.twitter.com/PfdnHcO7Ad
— Ryan Whitney (@ryanwhitney6) June 6, 2022
Unless Pearson is also instituting a "travelers cannot also film in the airport" rule what this action does is hurt the mainstream news media while helping independent citizens gain traction. I can't say I'm totally opposed to that! It's hard to declare in anger at their misrepresentation of conservatives those worthless pieces of shit deserve everything coming to them only to turn around and want their woke buddies at Toronto Pearson give them back a favour. While it's true CBC "journalists" are just as capable of getting on a flight and filming by hand inside the terminal, it certainly is a huge step to leveling the playing field. In general, that's a good thing.
Was this new media policy a smart idea? No. A good idea? No. Even permissible? Probably not. Completely irredeemable? Meh, I wouldn't go that far.
