The Line gets my monthly subscription since it provides a wide array of voices. As much as I like the writings of other journailists on Substack, I cannot put very many subscriptions in my ever shrinking budget. The Line caught my eye when Matt actually got out of his home office and WENT to Ottawa during the Convoy. And I know Jen also went down to the border. And since then the voices of your regulars like Peter and some other guests have made me appreciate this subscription.
I am grateful for all the Canadian, US and European independent media sources I have access to—of which an open internet is an essential part. Thanks to all of you who are doing the work so that when mainstream legacy media and other compromised actors present biases that gaslight the public, there are alternative resources available. Happy holidays to everyone at The Line.
Great article and a good reminder of why I support several independent media. Your line about the heritage minister instructing CRTC not to use that power raises the point about why did they even have the power. Just another totalitarian Quebec Frenchman running rampant just because he can.
I agree, John, but that instruction raises further questions. To wit:
- What if the Minister simply kept silent and allowed the regulators to find their own way?
- What if the Minister, instead, instructed the regulator to vigorously apply the legislation?
And so on and so forth. My point is that the Minister adopting a "benign" pose is simply one side of a coin, the other side is to have a very active application of the legislation and for a future Minister to perhaps even argue that the legislation was insufficient. Given the way this government has been acting these last few years, I would expect the latter course if this government is re-elected.
My view is no Minister should have any discretion to apply or not apply any law. This discretion leads to arbitrary police state tyranny applied to anyone the minister does not like for whatever reason. IMHO the only thing saving Canadians from the worst excesses of this arbitrariness is the cowardice and/or laziness of the civil servants who have to carry out the orders. Not to mention the use of umbrella legislation to be interpreted by countless regulations determined in secret without no or only perfunctory consultation of affected parties and maybe if you’re luck published in the Canada Gazette after the fact.
Put differently, we are a nation of laws, regulations, procedures, customs and conventions that can be ignored at will by our worsers (they sure as Hell are not our betters!). Arbitrary, unknown and unknowable. As you say, arbitrary and arbitrariness, cowardice and laziness.
For the moment - but, really, who knows for how long? - we can carp and complain but, at the same time, we have to wonder for how long we will be allowed to do that before there is a law that imposes sanctions for "insulting" the "dignity" of our "monarch" in Ottawer.
My thought is it not hypocritical of publishers such as Postmedia (National Post, Toronto Sun etc) to constantly rail against the Liberal government, yet happily accept millions from the Local Journalism Initiative? News is no longer the news. It's practically all opinion pieces. Without actual news, all you get is thousands of opinions thrown at you which doesn't really accomplish anything
MSM know they are on borrowed time, so they are sucking the teat before it runs dry. This is a transition period - with our support some independents will get financially strong enough that they will be able to hire a reporter or two. And then they can share the news for mutual support. The vacuum will be filled.
Keep on writing independent thought is so needed now more than ever. I note that the ONLY new continuing during the last week or so has been independent writers.
News subsidies have done so much damage. A new government will hopefully review subsidies and take appropriate action.
Dear Peter, if any wayward police bumps into you, let us know and we the unwashed supporters of independent media will help you. I call us the unwashed in contrast to the killjoy wokeys who constantly wash everything in their bleaching solutions so much that their brain cell atrophied to the extent that they have created a totalitarian dystopian nightmare. And they want us to live in that ? Hah !
I’m expanding my list of paid subscriptions to independent media but, with finite resources, something has to give - so I’m cancelling my subscription to the National Post forthwith. They’ll still manage on my tax dollars instead.
I love supporting independent media. I would support many more, particularly on Substack, but I absolutely despise Substack's auto-renewing process. I am limiting my subs to a select few because of it.
Fair enough. I work it the other way. I select a few I want to keep supporting - even though I like quite a few others - and leave the subscriptions on .
We're basically doing the same thing. You can't turn off the subscriptions once you've signed up. So I support the same few, but I would support more if there were a "support for just one year" option :-)
Journalists who take money from government directly or indirectly can be compromised. The old adage that "he who pays the piper calls the tune" remains a caution.
I enjoy The Line, The Hib, Tara Henly etc. but don't these journalists mostly rely on reporting (reporters) from legacy media? Who will pay the reporters? Or, how will journalism work without reporters?
Smitty, you are correct but recall that G & G did get out and commit journalism during the convoy. Of course, we here at The Line comment board know them better for their commentary but be aware that both G & G are skilled reporters of hard facts. Gerson is very experienced as a reporter while Gurney (I think! Matt, please correct me if I am wrong) came up through the administrative / supervisory / opinion side of the craft.
My point is, that to use The Line as an example, there are a whole lot of very skilled reporters out there but reporting is massively expensive so many Substacks start with opinion and start to seek a variety of opinion (see The Line on an ongoing basis). Further, some Substacks do report a fair portion of news as well as commentary; for example, see Terry Glavin; see Sam Cooper; see Blacklock's Reporter; and so forth.
G & G have said during one of their podcasts that they want to get to sufficient financial footing to start hiring folks. Please recognize that Substacks typically start out on a very slender shoestring and it takes time to build up capital to allow such investment in reporting. Therefore, it is up to we, the readers, to continue to pay up for subscriptions and, when we find a quality Substack we need to encourage the writers to charge even more but to put that extra money into further investment in the publication. I would offer Paul Wells as an example of one Substacker who has taken the plunge and hired admin staff; The Line now has many of the appurtenances of a grown up publication; it is still small but it is building a base. So, remember your obligation in all of this.
It is up to us, we the unwashed, to support the independents financially to the extent that they have financial stability, are not subject to the "capture by audience", and can hire reporters. Let's do that.
The Line gets my monthly subscription since it provides a wide array of voices. As much as I like the writings of other journailists on Substack, I cannot put very many subscriptions in my ever shrinking budget. The Line caught my eye when Matt actually got out of his home office and WENT to Ottawa during the Convoy. And I know Jen also went down to the border. And since then the voices of your regulars like Peter and some other guests have made me appreciate this subscription.
I am grateful for all the Canadian, US and European independent media sources I have access to—of which an open internet is an essential part. Thanks to all of you who are doing the work so that when mainstream legacy media and other compromised actors present biases that gaslight the public, there are alternative resources available. Happy holidays to everyone at The Line.
Great article and a good reminder of why I support several independent media. Your line about the heritage minister instructing CRTC not to use that power raises the point about why did they even have the power. Just another totalitarian Quebec Frenchman running rampant just because he can.
I agree, John, but that instruction raises further questions. To wit:
- What if the Minister simply kept silent and allowed the regulators to find their own way?
- What if the Minister, instead, instructed the regulator to vigorously apply the legislation?
And so on and so forth. My point is that the Minister adopting a "benign" pose is simply one side of a coin, the other side is to have a very active application of the legislation and for a future Minister to perhaps even argue that the legislation was insufficient. Given the way this government has been acting these last few years, I would expect the latter course if this government is re-elected.
My view is no Minister should have any discretion to apply or not apply any law. This discretion leads to arbitrary police state tyranny applied to anyone the minister does not like for whatever reason. IMHO the only thing saving Canadians from the worst excesses of this arbitrariness is the cowardice and/or laziness of the civil servants who have to carry out the orders. Not to mention the use of umbrella legislation to be interpreted by countless regulations determined in secret without no or only perfunctory consultation of affected parties and maybe if you’re luck published in the Canada Gazette after the fact.
Put differently, we are a nation of laws, regulations, procedures, customs and conventions that can be ignored at will by our worsers (they sure as Hell are not our betters!). Arbitrary, unknown and unknowable. As you say, arbitrary and arbitrariness, cowardice and laziness.
For the moment - but, really, who knows for how long? - we can carp and complain but, at the same time, we have to wonder for how long we will be allowed to do that before there is a law that imposes sanctions for "insulting" the "dignity" of our "monarch" in Ottawer.
Thanks Peter. Love independent news. I will always be a supporter as long as I'm around.
Peter Menzies, independent, and a constant pain in the ass to the Liberal Government and the woke crowd. Gotta love that!!
My thought is it not hypocritical of publishers such as Postmedia (National Post, Toronto Sun etc) to constantly rail against the Liberal government, yet happily accept millions from the Local Journalism Initiative? News is no longer the news. It's practically all opinion pieces. Without actual news, all you get is thousands of opinions thrown at you which doesn't really accomplish anything
MSM know they are on borrowed time, so they are sucking the teat before it runs dry. This is a transition period - with our support some independents will get financially strong enough that they will be able to hire a reporter or two. And then they can share the news for mutual support. The vacuum will be filled.
Keep on writing independent thought is so needed now more than ever. I note that the ONLY new continuing during the last week or so has been independent writers.
News subsidies have done so much damage. A new government will hopefully review subsidies and take appropriate action.
Happy New Year.
Thanks Peter. I truly hope that you are right about this societal change. I feel it as well, but didn't know that others did too.
Dear Peter, don’t let any wayward police bump into you in 2025. Cheers and Happy New Year.
Dear Peter, if any wayward police bumps into you, let us know and we the unwashed supporters of independent media will help you. I call us the unwashed in contrast to the killjoy wokeys who constantly wash everything in their bleaching solutions so much that their brain cell atrophied to the extent that they have created a totalitarian dystopian nightmare. And they want us to live in that ? Hah !
Great commentary. Keep beating the drum!
Well said. FYI a shout out is due to Village Media who seem to be thriving despite Bill C-18. https://www.collingwoodtoday.ca/local-news/editorial-facebook-can-censor-our-stories-but-not-our-passion-for-local-journalism-7394753
I’m expanding my list of paid subscriptions to independent media but, with finite resources, something has to give - so I’m cancelling my subscription to the National Post forthwith. They’ll still manage on my tax dollars instead.
I love supporting independent media. I would support many more, particularly on Substack, but I absolutely despise Substack's auto-renewing process. I am limiting my subs to a select few because of it.
Fair enough. I work it the other way. I select a few I want to keep supporting - even though I like quite a few others - and leave the subscriptions on .
We're basically doing the same thing. You can't turn off the subscriptions once you've signed up. So I support the same few, but I would support more if there were a "support for just one year" option :-)
How many here are have subscribed to Gerald Butts?? 🤪
Ha ha ha, good one!
Journalists who take money from government directly or indirectly can be compromised. The old adage that "he who pays the piper calls the tune" remains a caution.
I enjoy The Line, The Hib, Tara Henly etc. but don't these journalists mostly rely on reporting (reporters) from legacy media? Who will pay the reporters? Or, how will journalism work without reporters?
Smitty, you are correct but recall that G & G did get out and commit journalism during the convoy. Of course, we here at The Line comment board know them better for their commentary but be aware that both G & G are skilled reporters of hard facts. Gerson is very experienced as a reporter while Gurney (I think! Matt, please correct me if I am wrong) came up through the administrative / supervisory / opinion side of the craft.
My point is, that to use The Line as an example, there are a whole lot of very skilled reporters out there but reporting is massively expensive so many Substacks start with opinion and start to seek a variety of opinion (see The Line on an ongoing basis). Further, some Substacks do report a fair portion of news as well as commentary; for example, see Terry Glavin; see Sam Cooper; see Blacklock's Reporter; and so forth.
G & G have said during one of their podcasts that they want to get to sufficient financial footing to start hiring folks. Please recognize that Substacks typically start out on a very slender shoestring and it takes time to build up capital to allow such investment in reporting. Therefore, it is up to we, the readers, to continue to pay up for subscriptions and, when we find a quality Substack we need to encourage the writers to charge even more but to put that extra money into further investment in the publication. I would offer Paul Wells as an example of one Substacker who has taken the plunge and hired admin staff; The Line now has many of the appurtenances of a grown up publication; it is still small but it is building a base. So, remember your obligation in all of this.
Good and fair observations and questions.
It is up to us, we the unwashed, to support the independents financially to the extent that they have financial stability, are not subject to the "capture by audience", and can hire reporters. Let's do that.