By Grant Warkentin
A fake production company hired by CBC tried to trick North Island-Powell River MP Aaron Gunn into participating in what it claimed was a documentary about Canada’s first prime minister.
Details coming out today suggest the “documentary” was cover for a Borat-style “prank.”
Lindsay Shepherd, who co-hosted a leadership debate for BC Conservatives last month with Gunn, broke the news on her Twitter / X account yesterday, revealing she had been targeted because of a children’s book she wrote about Sir John A. Macdonald. The fake documentarians also tried to get Gunn involved because of his advocacy for Macdonald’s legacy, which started after the statue of the first prime minister was removed from Victoria in 2018. Some of Gunn’s early documentary work was about Macdonald and the statue removal.
Juno News published a story this afternoon detailing how fake companies “Forge Media” and “Nova Frame Productions” spent months trying to cultivate relationships with Shepherd and Gunn. They also targeted Frances Widdowston, a former Mount Royal University professor who has a controversial reputation for her public statements about residential schools and what she calls the “aboriginal industry.” Last year Widdowston produced a documentary titled “What Remains: Exposing the Kamloops Mass Grave Deception’s Impact on Powell River.” OneBC party leader Dallas Brodie was also targeted.
According to Juno News, “Two producers, using the aliases ‘Olivia Goldman’ of ‘Nova Frame Productions’ and ‘Pam Gibson’ of ‘Forge Media,’ repeatedly portrayed the project as an effort to ‘reclaim’ Macdonald’s legacy, defend Canadian heritage and provide a national platform for conservatives who felt censored or demonized for challenging prevailing reconciliation narratives. Pam Gibson was later identified as Molly Gore, an American producer who has worked on left-wing ecosocialist documentaries.”
Shepherd revealed the real project is something called “Counting Coup” for “Northland Tales” and involves the assistance of an American group called “The Yes Men,” who bill themselves as using “hijinks” to “fight fascism.”
The group offers its services to help NGOs and anyone interested to pull off their own “hijinks.” One of their most recent projects includes publishing pictures of alleged US immigration agents and police, and providing posters for anti-ICE activists to put up in public places. Another project involved crashing a tech event to make a statement about the shoe company Adidas and its business practices.
The CBC confirmed to Juno News that the production was funded by CBC, and that it is an “entertainment project” rather than the documentary producers pretended they were making when they reached out to Shepherd, Gunn, and others.
The Strathcona Standard contacted Gunn this morning. He promised to provide a comment, but has not yet been available for an interview.
However, he did send out a statement via email to his mailing list this afternoon.
Statement from Aaron Gunn
I always thought the role of media was to hold the powerful accountable and unapologetically seek the truth.
Apparently, Liberal Minister, Marc Miller and the CBC view it VERY differently. Because the CBC was just CAUGHT setting up an elaborate political trap to deceive and trick Canadian citizens.
They even tried (unsuccessfully) to manipulate and deceive me, a sitting Member of Parliament, on a crusade to further attack Canada’s history and smear the reputation of Canada’s first Prime Minister.
Think about that, the government funded broadcaster disguised identities in an attempt to trap an elected official.
THE SCHEME: A Canadian author, who wrote a book about Sir John A. Macdonald was approached by a production group to do an interview. But what she didn’t know was that it was ALL FAKE! They connected her with a fake company, fake work opportunities, and fake business deals.
Then after months of deception, they revealed it was all an intentional setup designed to demonize Sir John A. Macdonald and smear her.
Is this what Marc Miller meant when he claimed the CBC is necessary for “social cohesion”?
This is something you would expect from a university fraternity, not a taxpayer-funded broadcaster.
Why is the taxpayer-funded broadcaster contacting Canadians in disguise and trying to trick them into participating in a twisted social experiment, in partnership with American leftists?
And will taxpayers also need to cover the legal bills for CBC in the inevitable lawsuits they are about to face?
Conservatives and I are demanding answers NOW. But this won’t be an easy fight.
Which is why I have come to you to ask you add your name to fuel our fight to hold Mark Miller and the CBC accountable.
I’ve interviewed more than 300 Canadians for my documentaries (and didn’t receive any taxpayer money).
Not once did I engage in garbage like this. Canadians deserve better.
Sincerely,
Aaron Gunn M.P.
North Island—Powell River
CBC responds to National Post
The National Post published an article this afternoon with a comment from CBC, who said “Northland Tales (working title) is an Indigenous-led unscripted, half-hour comedy series in early production for CBC Entertainment and APTN. For clarity, CBC News and APTN News have no involvement in this production or prior knowledge of it.”
CBC claims the point of the prank show is “to increase better understanding of historical injustices against Indigenous peoples and support truth and reconciliation in Canada.”
The national broadcaster said it would not disclose financial details for the project.
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