Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre restated his commitment to defunding the CBC after one of its international correspondents bemoaned Israel’s assassination of one of Hamas’ leaders in Iran.
Though good news for many seeking justice for the massacre of Israelis on Oct. 7 and the several hundred who were reported to be taken hostage in the attack by Hamas, the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was mourned by some on social media.
Hamas is currently designated as a terrorist organization by the Government of Canada.
CBC News foreign correspondent Chris Brown took to social media, calling the killing a “deliberate effort” to stop any chance at peace in the region.
“If you are serious about negotiating a ceasefire, killing the guy on the other side who is negotiating it seems … like a deliberate effort to make sure it doesn’t happen,” Brown said on X.
Poilievre disagreed with Brown’s take and noted his comments as an example of why he thinks Canada’s public broadcaster should be defunded.
“CBC is mourning the loss of the leader of Hamas, who carried out the biggest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust,” Poilievre posted on X. “Destroy Hamas. Defund the CBC.”
Brown has since claimed that his original post lacked context and that he would provide a deeper analysis of the potential fallout from the Hamas leader’s death in a “longer format.”
“My previous tweet about the assassination of Haniyeh didn’t include enough context. Likely better to save the analysis of its implications for longer formats,” he said.
Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly told True North in an email that the government is monitoring the situation and is also concerned about the potential fallout from Haniyeh’s death.
“We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of Hamas, a listed terror organization in Canada, and are aware of reports of the death of Ismail Haniyeh,” she said. “Canada is closely monitoring the evolving situation. We are gravely concerned about the prospect for further escalation across the region and urge all involved actors to exercise restrain and de-escalate.”
CBC spokesperson Chuck Thompson True North that the state broadcaster “recognizes this tweet needed more context,” but ultimately, CBC News as an organization “does not take a position on the Israel-Hamas war.”
Honest Reporting Canada, an independent media watchdog that focuses on “unfair” Canadian coverage of Israel and the Middle East, thanked Poilievre for pointing out what it sees as CBC’s anti-Israel bias.
“Thank you, Pierre Poilievre, for calling this anti-Israel bias out,” it said on X. “Unfortunately, this anti-Israel rhetoric is par for the course for CBC News and CBC’s Chris Brown.”
In another post, the pro-Israel media watchdog highlighted an Associated Press article published by the CBC on Haniyeh, calling its coverage of the terrorist leader “insane.” As the author described, the leader of the organization responsible for Oct. 7 was a “moderate.”
“CBC: Is murdering babies, children, men, and women, raping and sexually assaulting women, and taking hostages into Gaza considered moderate?” HRC said. “Because he was the leader of that terrorist group, who openly celebrated after October 7. Haniyeh was nothing more than a bloodthirsty terrorist! This is what our tax dollars are paying for?”
Brown did not respond to True North’s requests for comment before the deadline provided.