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Right-wing fringe newspaper is appearing on doorsteps across the Maritimes

'The last thing we need is this landing in Canadians’ mailboxes,' says MP Lenore Zann

By Brooklyn Connolly, and Stephen Wentzell
5 min read
caption MPs are hearing complaints from people who are receiving unsolicited copies of the Epoch Times.
Submitted by Lenore Zann

Sarah Jeffers sat down and cried after opening her mailbox on Tuesday morning. Inside was an unfamiliar newspaper, filled with what she described as racism and hate.

The publication, the Epoch Times, featured a front page splashed with anti-China rhetoric. The paper is known for promoting pro-Trump rhetoric and disseminating conspiracy theories about QAnon and vaccine misinformation.

Jeffers was shocked to see it delivered to her home in Truro, N.S.

“This was something that was indiscriminately dropped in everybody’s mailbox. It didn’t matter who you were, it didn’t matter what background you came from,” she said in an interview. “And my heart broke for anyone that was Asian in my community, or friends that I had in other parts of Canada that would have received that.”

The newspaper — advertised as a free sample — is making its way through Atlantic Canada this week. The Signal has heard from residents in Truro and Chester in Nova Scotia, and in Newfoundland and Labrador who have received the publication.

There are reports of the newspaper being delivered in Ontario, Alberta, B.C. and P.E.I.

The Epoch Times website reads, “Every penny of your subscription cost helps us deliver truth and tradition — our motto — to every Canadian.”

“Obviously this is a well funded paper,” Jeffers said, noting there are no advertisements inside the newspaper.

“I wonder how much Canada Post is being paid to have this sent out.”

Complaints to MPs

Jeffers’ representative in Parliament, Cumberland-Colchester MP Lenore Zann, said she’s heard complaints from Nova Scotians about the newspaper.

“The last thing we need is this landing in Canadians’ mailboxes,” Zann said.

Zann said she contacted the office of MP Anita Anand earlier this week. As minister of public services and procurement, Anand is responsible for Canada Post.

Zann said according to Anand’s office, the newspaper is being distributed countrywide and that MP offices have received a number of complaints about it this week. A statement to Zann, which was forwarded to The Signal, said Anand has requested that her officials look into the matter further.

“It’s also worth noting that Canadian Post operated independently,” the statement reads.

Zann said the publication “absolutely” has the power to influence thought, politics and opinion.

Kurt Phillips, founder of Anti-Racist Canada and a current member of the board of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, said the Epoch Times “is one of the few examples of right-wing extremist propaganda that really frightens me.”

He is concerned about the “echo chambers” circulating around hate groups, whose extremist views are being propped up by propaganda disguised as a newspaper.

caption Article in the Epoch Times claims “Chinese regime launched a geopolitical masterstroke.” In May 2020, the federal government allowed its distribution to continue throughout Canada.
Photo submitted by Lenore Zann.

This isn’t the first time the publication has made its way to Canada.

Last May, the federal government rejected a request from a Toronto postal workers’ union and ordered Canada Post to continue its circulation of Epoch after deciding it didn’t reach the criminal threshold for hate speech, the CBC reported.

The office of the minister of public services and procurement said in the statement sent on Thursday that “after an initial legal assessment of [Epoch Times] material, it does not appear to meet the required criteria for prohibiting distribution.”

It is unclear when the legal assessment was done.

Canada Post has a legal obligation to deliver all neighbourhood mail, according to the Canada Post Corporation Act.

Anybody with a business customer number who’s registered with Canada Post on its website can use neighbourhood mailers, a tool commonly used in campaigns and flyers. It offers to send “direct mail to every mailbox in Canada,” Canada Post says on its site.

Media literacy to combat propaganda

Kurt Phillips said Epoch Times is “dangerous because it physically looks like journalism on the surface.” That’s why media literacy is so important, he added.

As a junior and senior high school teacher in Alberta, he said he discusses media literacy with his students to encourage critical thinking and to trust news stories that are backed by more than one publication.

“Why do you think it’s presenting this message in the way that it is?” Phillips said he asks his students. “What is a reliable website to get information from and what makes it reliable?”

Drew Garvie, the Ontario leader of the Communist Party of Canada, said he believes the Epoch Times does violate speech laws and notes that conspiracy theories around COVID-19 have resulted in an increase in violence against people of Chinese origin in the country.

Project 1907, a grassroots organization that aims to elevate Asian voices, found that over 600 incidents of anti-Asian racism had been reported since the onset of COVID-19 in April into September. The report states that “Canada has a higher number of anti-Asian racism reports per capita than the United States.”

Garvie wants the mailouts to stop.

“I think it’s dangerous that the government is dismissing this,” he said.

“This is a paper that’s filled with conspiracy theories,” he said. “Do your own research and don’t accept that just because it comes in the mail and looks like a newspaper, it doesn’t mean it’s not filled with lies.”

The Epoch Times did not respond to an interview request.

Correction:

Jan. 15, 2021: An earlier version of this story misstated Kurt Phillips' role with the Canadian Anti-Hate Network.

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About the author

Brooklyn Connolly

Brooklyn is a journalist based in Halifax, N.S. She's passionate about all things health, policy, and education. Her work has been seen in the...

Stephen Wentzell

Stephen Wentzell is an ambitious and resilient investigative writer from Halifax, Nova Scotia. He has been a journalist for a third of his life....

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  1. S

    Susan

    Perfect liner for a litter box. I especially liked the article about male chivalry. Shredded within seconds

  2. F

    Frederick MacKenzie

    The Epoch Times is ran by Asian people: the Falun Gong. So I'm not sure why her "heart broke for anyone that was Asian in my community". Are all Asian people in her community supposed to think like she does? Are none of them Falun Gong, or people who agree with Falun Gong?

    • E

      Eric

      Asian people know well the anti-Chinese prejudice they experience, especially since the Orange Monster shortly leaving the White House persists in spouting about 'the Chinese virus.' As amply displayed in Washington on January 6, a lot of right-wingers don't make respectful distinctions among facts and people.

  3. L

    Linda

    It’s important for people to be aware of what media they absorb- in my view this article explaining Epoch Times is fine. Like it or not, some folks wouldn’t question the material, consider sources etc.. We should be aware enough to check up on what’s presented as fact/ opinion/ fiction ... these days those lines can be quite blurred and muddied.

    • S

      Sandra Locke

      Do you check the sources, I have and they are using proper sources, unlike the left CBC that does a ton of opinion posts. When I was in University, citing anything presented to others had to be cited and backed up. I learned opinions are not worth much, you can have them, but when you are discussing something that effects the lives of others, you better know what you are talking about. I would like you to show an article from the Epoc Times that is based on ONLY opinion.

      • E

        Epic

        Propaganda is not a proper source, ever...you sound like a sympathetic ear.

  4. C

    Charles MacPhail

    I certainly cannot understand why people get so angry? it is an alternate view which is OK with me and Sarah Jeffers that is mentioned in the article should put on her Big Girl pants prior to getting her mail or bring a box of Kleenex with her, just another bit of sensationalism so if I see someone crying in the post office I will assume they received a copy- Does anyone remember the saying "Freedom of Speach"

    • S

      Sunny Salmon

      Your confusing Canada with the States, we don't have freedom of speech laws in Canada. We don't have Freedom of Speech. We do have hate speech laws and rightfully so.

      • G

        Glynis Thomas

        Canada has Freedom of Expression. It is what allows alternate opinions, ideas, thoughts, art, dance to be expresses without censorship. It allows nudes to be hung in art galleries, signs to be posted in many languages, and newspapers or ad flyers to be deliveted to your doorstep. It is the reason I love Canada and will stand up for others Freedom of Expression.

      • S

        Sandra Locke

        hate speech is not part of the Epoc Times, only in a fluffy persons mind

  5. C

    Charles MacPhail

    Well said Raymond L. and I agree wholeheartedly - Cheers brother
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