Judi McLeod
Encyclopedia
Judi Ann T. McLeod http://hip.tpl.toronto.on.ca/ipac20/ipac.jsp?session=0&menu=search&aspect=power&npp=10&ipp=20&profile=rs&ri=&index=AW&term=McLeod%2C+Judi%20+1944 is a Canadian
journalist who operates the conservative Canadian website, Canada Free Press (CFP), which publishes news stories, features, and editorials.
and raised in St. Joseph's Orphanage in Halifax
, Nova Scotia
. Her first article was published in the Halifax Chronicle-Herald
when she was 18.
for the Brampton Times in 1981, where her husband was the managing editor.
When she was removed from her beat in 1983, she alleged that conservatives she had accused of meddling in local politics, had put pressure on the newspaper. When her husband reinstated her to the position, the newspaper fired them both. The Globe and Mail reported that Canada's multiculturalism minister, Liberal MP James Fleming, was investigating McLeod's removal. Fleming believed the reassignment amounted to intimidation of a reporter doing her job. The Ontario Federation of Labour
, protested on McLeod's behalf against what they called political intervention. Days after being fired, McLeod won the Edward J. Hayes Memorial Ontario award for beat-reporting. http://www.ontarionewspaperawards.ca/ontarionewspaperawards/categories.html Broadcast journalist and panelist Peter Desbarats
called her coverage the best of any in 22 Ontario dailies. The McLeods subsequently filed a lawsuit against The Brampton Times for wrongful dismissal
, but later withdrew it. Judi McLeod also claimed to have filed a complaint with the Ontario Human Rights Commission
against the Brampton Times.
The work she created in her final year at the Times won the beat category, at the Western Ontario Newspaper Award.
as a rival to her former employer in 1984 before moving to the Toronto Sun
in 1985, where she was the paper's education reporter. Her columns were highly critical of New Democratic Party
school trustees who dominated the Toronto Board of Education at the time. McLeod also called ethnic parents who wanted heritage language instruction "as diabolical as any of the characters from the imaginative pen of Charles Dickens... a nasty lot indeed," and warned people against "multiculturalism gone haywire."
While still at the Toronto Sun, she voluntarily contributed opinion columns on the topic of education to an interdenominational Christian newspaper called Windows To The Kingdom. With a press run of 30,000 copies, publisher Brian Chiasson arranged for it to be circulated to churches and Christian bookstores throughout the Greater Toronto Area.
After leaving the Sun, she moved to Kingston, Ontario
for three years where she worked as a reporter and columnist for the Kingston Whig-Standard
, according to the Canada Free Press website. http://www.canadafreepress.com/2000/0002a13.htm In 1991, she returned to Toronto and founded, with help from Tony O'Donohue
, Our Toronto, a right-wing monthly newspaper which focused on Toronto City Council
. In the 2000s, Our Toronto Free Press evolved into the Canada Free Press, which is now published online only.
In 2005, McLeod and David Hawkins wrote a series of articles on what they described as the United Nations
' "radical socialist
agenda executed across Intranet
s and virtual private network
s, operated by the self-styled 'Global Custodians'." They alleged links between "$40 trillion hedge fund
s, via an online portal on the seventy-ninth floor of One World Trade Center
, to 'disruptive technologies
' developed by Canada for alleged use in the UN Oil-for-Food
scam, 9/11
and Kyoto
fraud." http://web.archive.org/web/2005082809324/http://www.canadafreepress.com/2005/cover061705.htm
McLeod and Hawkins allege that the September 11, 2001 attacks
on the United States may have been a Mafia
plot and not the work of al-Qaeda
terrorists. http://web.archive.org/web/20050808081842/http://www.canadafreepress.com/2005/cover071105.htm
has described McLeod's writing as that of an "emotionally incontinent ninth grader," http://web.archive.org/web/20080129165311/http://www.theambler.com/jul1-15_05.htm#marsden4 while Toronto Star
columnist Antonia Zerbisias
describes her as "eccentric" and the Canada Free Press as a "whacko news site." http://thestar.blogs.com/azerb/komedy_korner/index.html
Toronto Life
magazine reported that McLeod was harassing city councillor
Betty Disero
. McLeod had been driving past Disero's home, taking pictures.
McLeod published the home address and photograph of Cathy Crowe
, co-founder of the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee, in the CFP along with what Crowe's lawyer deemed defamatory statements. The lawyer alleged that McLeod was encouraging her readers to harass and even physically attack Crowe. http://web.archive.org/web/20030520035447/www.canadafreepress.com/archives/2001/7vol8.htm The paper also published the home address of anti-poverty activist John Clarke
along with a photograph of the house he was renting.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
journalist who operates the conservative Canadian website, Canada Free Press (CFP), which publishes news stories, features, and editorials.
Early life and career
McLeod was born in Prince Edward IslandPrince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
and raised in St. Joseph's Orphanage in Halifax
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
. Her first article was published in the Halifax Chronicle-Herald
Halifax Chronicle-Herald
The Chronicle Herald is a broadsheet published in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The largest newspaper company in Nova Scotia, The Chronicle Herald is also the highest circulation newspaper in the Atlantic provinces and is currently the largest independently owned newspaper company in Canada...
when she was 18.
Early career controversy
McLeod worked as a city-hall reporter in the Greater Toronto AreaGreater Toronto Area
The Greater Toronto Area is the largest metropolitan area in Canada, with a 2006 census population of 5.5 million. The Greater Toronto Area is usually defined as the central city of Toronto, along with four regional municipalities surrounding it: Durham, Halton, Peel, and York...
for the Brampton Times in 1981, where her husband was the managing editor.
When she was removed from her beat in 1983, she alleged that conservatives she had accused of meddling in local politics, had put pressure on the newspaper. When her husband reinstated her to the position, the newspaper fired them both. The Globe and Mail reported that Canada's multiculturalism minister, Liberal MP James Fleming, was investigating McLeod's removal. Fleming believed the reassignment amounted to intimidation of a reporter doing her job. The Ontario Federation of Labour
Ontario Federation of Labour
The Ontario Federation of Labour is a prominent federation of labour unions in the Canadian province of Ontario. The original OFL was established by the Canadian Congress of Labour in 1944...
, protested on McLeod's behalf against what they called political intervention. Days after being fired, McLeod won the Edward J. Hayes Memorial Ontario award for beat-reporting. http://www.ontarionewspaperawards.ca/ontarionewspaperawards/categories.html Broadcast journalist and panelist Peter Desbarats
Peter Desbarats
Peter Desbarats, OC is a Montreal, Quebec-born Canadian author, playwright and journalist. He is the former dean of journalism at the University of Western Ontario , a former commissioner in the Somalia Inquiry and a former Maclean-Hunter chair of Communications Ethics at Ryerson University in...
called her coverage the best of any in 22 Ontario dailies. The McLeods subsequently filed a lawsuit against The Brampton Times for wrongful dismissal
Wrongful dismissal
Wrongful dismissal, also called wrongful termination or wrongful discharge, is an idiom and legal phrase, describing a situation in which an employee's contract of employment has been terminated by the employer in circumstances where the termination breaches one or more terms of the contract of...
, but later withdrew it. Judi McLeod also claimed to have filed a complaint with the Ontario Human Rights Commission
Ontario Human Rights Commission
The Ontario Human Rights Commission was established in the Canadian province of Ontario on March 29, 1961 to administer the Ontario Human Rights Code...
against the Brampton Times.
The work she created in her final year at the Times won the beat category, at the Western Ontario Newspaper Award.
Later employment
She helped found The BramptonianThe Bramptonian
The Bramptonian was a short-lived Brampton, Ontario newspaper created 1984. The husband and wife team John and Judi McLeod founded the newspaper to rival The Brampton Times....
as a rival to her former employer in 1984 before moving to the Toronto Sun
Toronto Sun
The Toronto Sun is an English-language daily tabloid newspaper published in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is known for its daily Sunshine Girl feature and for what it sees as a populist conservative editorial stance.-History:...
in 1985, where she was the paper's education reporter. Her columns were highly critical of New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
school trustees who dominated the Toronto Board of Education at the time. McLeod also called ethnic parents who wanted heritage language instruction "as diabolical as any of the characters from the imaginative pen of Charles Dickens... a nasty lot indeed," and warned people against "multiculturalism gone haywire."
While still at the Toronto Sun, she voluntarily contributed opinion columns on the topic of education to an interdenominational Christian newspaper called Windows To The Kingdom. With a press run of 30,000 copies, publisher Brian Chiasson arranged for it to be circulated to churches and Christian bookstores throughout the Greater Toronto Area.
After leaving the Sun, she moved to Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
for three years where she worked as a reporter and columnist for the Kingston Whig-Standard
Kingston Whig-Standard
The Kingston Whig-Standard is a newspaper in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. It is published daily, except on Sunday. It publishes a mix of community, national and international news and is owned by Sun Media...
, according to the Canada Free Press website. http://www.canadafreepress.com/2000/0002a13.htm In 1991, she returned to Toronto and founded, with help from Tony O'Donohue
Tony O'Donohue
Anthony "Tony" O'Donohue is a former municipal politician in Toronto, Ontario.-Early life:Born in The Burren, County Clare, Ireland , O'Donohue graduated as a civil engineer from University College, Galway in 1954...
, Our Toronto, a right-wing monthly newspaper which focused on Toronto City Council
Toronto City Council
The Toronto City Council is the governing body of the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.Members represent wards throughout the city, and are known as councillors....
. In the 2000s, Our Toronto Free Press evolved into the Canada Free Press, which is now published online only.
Areas of interest
See Canada Free PressIn 2005, McLeod and David Hawkins wrote a series of articles on what they described as the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
' "radical socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
agenda executed across Intranet
Intranet
An intranet is a computer network that uses Internet Protocol technology to securely share any part of an organization's information or network operating system within that organization. The term is used in contrast to internet, a network between organizations, and instead refers to a network...
s and virtual private network
Virtual private network
A virtual private network is a network that uses primarily public telecommunication infrastructure, such as the Internet, to provide remote offices or traveling users access to a central organizational network....
s, operated by the self-styled 'Global Custodians'." They alleged links between "$40 trillion hedge fund
Hedge fund
A hedge fund is a private pool of capital actively managed by an investment adviser. Hedge funds are only open for investment to a limited number of accredited or qualified investors who meet criteria set by regulators. These investors can be institutions, such as pension funds, university...
s, via an online portal on the seventy-ninth floor of One World Trade Center
World Trade Center
The original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
, to 'disruptive technologies
Disruptive technology
A disruptive technology or disruptive innovation is an innovation that helps create a new market and value network, and eventually goes on to disrupt an existing market and value network , displacing an earlier technology there...
' developed by Canada for alleged use in the UN Oil-for-Food
Oil-for-Food Programme
The Oil-for-Food Programme , established by the United Nations in 1995 was established with the stated intent to allow Iraq to sell oil on the world market in exchange for food, medicine, and other humanitarian needs for ordinary Iraqi citizens without allowing Iraq to boost its military...
scam, 9/11
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
and Kyoto
Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol is a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change , aimed at fighting global warming...
fraud." http://web.archive.org/web/2005082809324/http://www.canadafreepress.com/2005/cover061705.htm
McLeod and Hawkins allege that the September 11, 2001 attacks
September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks (also referred to as September 11, September 11th or 9/119/11 is pronounced "nine eleven". The slash is not part of the pronunciation...
on the United States may have been a Mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
plot and not the work of al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...
terrorists. http://web.archive.org/web/20050808081842/http://www.canadafreepress.com/2005/cover071105.htm
Criticism
Conservative writer Kevin Michael GraceKevin Michael Grace
Kevin Michael Grace is a Canadian journalist and blogger. Grace worked for Alberta Report, its sister publication Report and the Montreal Gazette. He currently writes for Resource Clips.-External links:* *...
has described McLeod's writing as that of an "emotionally incontinent ninth grader," http://web.archive.org/web/20080129165311/http://www.theambler.com/jul1-15_05.htm#marsden4 while Toronto Star
Toronto Star
The Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...
columnist Antonia Zerbisias
Antonia Zerbisias
Antonia Zerbisias is a Canadian journalist associated with the Toronto Star since 1989. She has been a reporter and TV host for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, as well as the Montreal correspondent for Variety trade paper...
describes her as "eccentric" and the Canada Free Press as a "whacko news site." http://thestar.blogs.com/azerb/komedy_korner/index.html
Toronto Life
Toronto Life
Toronto Life is a monthly Canadian magazine about entertainment, politics and life in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Toronto Life also publishes a number of annual special interest guides about the city, including Home Decor, Stylebook, Eating & Drinking, Real Estate and Weddings. Established in 1966,...
magazine reported that McLeod was harassing city councillor
Toronto City Council
The Toronto City Council is the governing body of the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.Members represent wards throughout the city, and are known as councillors....
Betty Disero
Betty Disero
Betty Disero is a former city councillor in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She was elected to the Toronto City Council in 1985, and served until her resignation in 2003.-Early life and career:...
. McLeod had been driving past Disero's home, taking pictures.
McLeod published the home address and photograph of Cathy Crowe
Cathy Crowe
Cathy Crowe, RN is a Canadian nurse, educator and social activist, specializing in advocacy for the homeless in Canada. She was the Ontario New Democratic Party's candidate in the 2010 provincial by-election and in the 2011 provincial election in Toronto Centre.-Early life and education:Raised in...
, co-founder of the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee, in the CFP along with what Crowe's lawyer deemed defamatory statements. The lawyer alleged that McLeod was encouraging her readers to harass and even physically attack Crowe. http://web.archive.org/web/20030520035447/www.canadafreepress.com/archives/2001/7vol8.htm The paper also published the home address of anti-poverty activist John Clarke
John Clarke (activist)
John Clarke is a Canadian political activist and the founder and leading figure of the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty. Originally from Britain, Clarke moved to London, Ontario in the 1980s where he was a factory worker...
along with a photograph of the house he was renting.
Further reading
- Blatchford, Christie. "Tony's 2nd job; paid by Laidlaw to push projects," The Toronto Sun, December 16, 1994, p.5
- Cooly, Glenn. "Rightist lauding Layton: Right-wing tab, Our Toronto, touts Jack Layton as class act. Jack Layton says bizarre new backing a surprise," Now Weekly, November 3/9, 1994
- Di Matteo, Enzo. "Right-wing friends flee from tabloid's independent stance: Our Toronto faces ad drain and lawsuit by a high-profile founder," Now Weekly, November 17/23, 1994
- A Criminal Mind Link to the Western StandardWestern StandardThe Western Standard is a Calgary, Alberta-based libertarian-conservative publication that billed itself as Canada's only conservative national news magazine...
article with information about Rachel Marsden, Judi McLeod's apology, and the Tony O'DonohueTony O'DonohueAnthony "Tony" O'Donohue is a former municipal politician in Toronto, Ontario.-Early life:Born in The Burren, County Clare, Ireland , O'Donohue graduated as a civil engineer from University College, Galway in 1954...
lawsuit. - Betty Disero Sees Hidden Enemies from Eye WeeklyEye WeeklyEye Weekly was a free weekly newspaper published in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was owned by Torstar, the parent company of the Toronto Star, and was published by their Star Media Group until its final issue on May 5, 2011. The following week, Torstar launched a successor publication, The Grid.-...