Avaaz Responds to News of Kory Teneycke's Resignation From Sun TV

A victory for people-powered democracy and the fight against crony-media

TORONTO, Sept. 15 /CNW/ - Ricken Patel, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Avaaz, made this statement today in response to Kory Teneycke's resignation: 

"The resignation of Prime Minister Harper's former spin doctor from the leadership of one of Canada's most powerful news organizations is a battle won in a longer fight against crony-media in Canada. 

We've seen a massive people-powered movement growing to protect our democracy, with 80,000 petition signatures and $110,000 raised online in just days.  We saw the big corporate response - with smear pieces in Quebecor newspapers, legal threats, and insider knowledge of criminal sabotage of our petition. But Canadians did not back down.  

Teneycke's resignation was sudden and unexpected, and followed Avaaz's request to the RCMP yesterday for a criminal investigation into the sabotage of our petition. This event only reinforces the need for a full police inquiry. 

This isn't over. Canadians are not just concerned about a Prime Minister's former spin doctor, they're concerned about a channel that backs the Prime Minister's political agenda, asking for special government favours to fund its launch.   

American democracy has been poisoned by this kind of crony-media and its biased propaganda. What we're seeing is that Canadians aren't buying it."

For further information:

Media contact:   Emma Sachs, [email protected] [phone]