Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre attacked BCE Inc. on Tuesday after CTV News, which is owned by BCE, showed an edited clip that distorted the meaning of his words.
During the debate on his motion of no confidence in the House of Commons, Poilievre said CTV's Sunday news report on the motion was “extremely dishonest” and “deceptive.”
He sharply criticized Bell, pointing to a rating agency's recent decision to downgrade the group's credit rating to “almost junk level.” He accused CEO Mirko Bibic of being “overpaid,” said he was “emptying the books to pay his rich friends” and claimed the company was paying “an unacceptably and unrealistically high dividend.”
Poilievre is a frequent critic of the news media, and particularly the parliamentary press gallery. He has accused media outlets such as CTV, CBC, the Canadian Press and others of being pro-liberal when he criticised their reporting.
WATCH: Poilievre steps up attacks on Bell
Poilievre intensifies attacks on Bell
During a speech in the House of Commons on Tuesday, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre attacked BCE Inc., the parent company of Canada's largest telecommunications company and CTV, after its news division showed an edited clip that distorted the meaning of his words.
But it is unusual for a senior politician like Poilievre to be so harsh in his condemnation of a major publicly traded company like Bell – even though Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had sharply criticized the company earlier this year for what he called a “nonsensical” decision to lay off journalists and media workers.
Poilievre suspected, without having any evidence, that the news team behind the altered clip was somehow acting on Bibic's behalf.
“The reason he and his other cronies in this company are after me is because he knows I stand up for the people and against crony capitalists and insiders like him,” Poilievre said.
According to Canadian Elections Office records, Bibic has been a donor to the Conservative Party in the past. In 2004, he donated to a local Liberal candidate in Ottawa.
In 2022, records show, Bibic also donated money to Jean Charest, Poilievre's main opponent in the last conservative leader's election.
Mirko Bibic, president and CEO of BCE and Bell Canada, speaks during a CRTC hearing in Gatineau, Que. (Justin Tang/Canadian Press)
Poilievre's targeted attack this time stems from CTV News' decision to re-edit some of the words Poilievre said in a scrum with reporters. Conservatives say CTV strung his words together in a way that created the impression that Poilievre was filing a no-confidence motion — which would trigger a new election — because he wants to eliminate the Liberal government's fledgling dental care program.
Speaking to journalists, Poilievre said: “That is why it is time to put a proposal for a CO2 tax on the ballot.”
On the CTV broadcast, Poilievre was heard saying, “That's why we have to table a motion.” These words came after the network's reporter read a script saying there were “questions” about the “future” of dental care as the no-confidence motion looms.
In a statement, a CTV spokesman said the broadcast “reproduced a comment from the opposition leader that was taken out of context.”
“A misunderstanding during the editorial process led to this misrepresentation,” the spokesperson said. “We unreservedly apologize to Mr. Poilievre and the Conservative Party of Canada.”
WATCH: Trudeau responds to Poilievre's attack on Bell 
'It is absolutely necessary' to defend press freedom; Prime Minister responds to Poilievre's attack on Bell
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said: “Politicians who knowingly undermine the legitimacy and hard work of professional journalists are not standing up for democracy.” Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre intensified his attacks on Bell in a speech in the House of Commons on Tuesday.
Bell did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Poilievre's recent comments about the CEO and the company's motives.
Sebastian Skamski, a spokesman for Poilievre, rejected CTV's “so-called apology.”
“This was not a simple misunderstanding,” he said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
“Unless they explicitly admit that they attempted to undermine Pierre Poilievre through malicious editing and omissions, Conservative MPs will not cooperate with CTV News and its reporters.”
Skamski posted on social media an image of a memo to the Conservative caucus instructing MPs and senators to “refrain from any interaction with CTV News, including participating in interviews, making statements or comments of any kind.”
Poilievre has not given a clear answer on what he will do about dental care if he becomes the next prime minister. He has not cited the issue as a reason for the government's downfall.
Poilievre has said he wants a “carbon tax election” on whether to continue the Liberal government's climate policy, which involves taxing fuels such as oil and gas and returning most of the revenue to households.
Poilievre has said the utility of the ever-increasing tax is questionable. He said it punishes consumers who depend on fossil fuels and has repeatedly promised to repeal the tax if elected.
Poilievre was already highly critical of Bell before this latest incident. Just last week, he pointed out on social media the company's near-junk credit rating.
He criticized the long waiting times in the company's call center and said the company wanted favorable regulation from the Liberal government.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, Trudeau said it was a journalist's job to “challenge people in positions of power or those who aspire to positions of power.”
“It is absolutely necessary that we always defend the freedom and independence of the media,” he added. “Politicians who deliberately undermine the legitimacy and hard work of professional journalists do not stand for democracy, let alone freedom.”
Bell, one of Canada's largest companies, faces major challenges.
The company has taken on debt as it burns cash to modernize its network and infrastructure.
The company's share price has fallen in recent months as investors worry about the company's ability to repay nearly $40 billion in debt while paying significant dividends to shareholders in an era of high interest rates.
Rating agency Moody's has expressed concerns about the telecommunications company's actual debt and downgraded its credit rating to the last level above junk bond status in August.
BCE Inc. headquarters in Montreal on Thursday, August 3, 2023. (Christinne Muschi/Canadian Press)
The company's shares are owned by many private investors and pension funds, in part because the company pays out virtually all of its profits to shareholders in the form of dividends.
The stock's dividend yield is nearly nine percent – much more than an investor would receive on most bonds or other products such as bank GICs.
The company's share price has fallen, among other things, because there are doubts as to whether the company will be able to continue paying such a high dividend.
Bell has been selling assets – it began the process of selling Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment last week – to raise cash and keep ratings agencies and dividend-conscious investors happy.
In order to reduce costs, around 4,800 employees were laid off at the beginning of the year.
Peter Menzies is a former editor of the Calgary Herald newspaper and a former member of the Canadian Radio-Television Commission (CRTC), which regulates companies like Bell. He is now a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.
He said Poilievre's criticism of Bell was not unprecedented. He said former Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Bibic's predecessor George Cope had also “crossed swords” during their time in office.
“Bell seemed to have weathered that well, and Cope was dealing with a prime minister, not an opposition leader,” he told CBC News.
“Just a year ago, the grocers were called out by the Prime Minister, who had just put Meta, which also seemed to be doing quite well, in its place,” he added, referring to Facebook's parent company.
“That's not to say that companies enjoy being political whipping boys. It's certainly uncomfortable, but I don't see any impact on shareholders, especially when it comes from the opposition benches.”