In a post on social media, the press secretary for Alberta’s Ministry of Education and Childcare said that the ministry would “not engage” with any journalists from CityNews, in response to an article from the broadcaster’s Calgary bureau.
Garrett Koehler, the press secretary, wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Feb. 18: “CityNews crossed a line. They made a calculated editorial decision to exploit a personal moment. I’ve informed @citynewscalgary that until the story is removed and an official apology is sent, the Ministry will not engage with any of their reporters or sister stations.”
In a letter attached to the post, Koehler added that education minister Demetrios Nicolaides and staff would not respond to “questions, interview requests, or requests for comment from CityNews Calgary or any affiliated outlets or reporters, nor will they be sent invitations to embargoed technical briefings”.
Koehler said the policy would remain in effect until the publication issued a formal apology and removed an article published on Feb. 16 which raised questions about the minister’s decision to display an Alberta provincial flag, instead of a Canadian flag, during a recent trip to Tanzania.
The article included comments from some Albertans who felt that Nicolaides’ use of the provincial flag had political connotations in the context of an ongoing effort by Alberta separatists to gather support for the province leaving Canada.
Nicolaides made the trip to raise money for a charity to support victims of domestic violence, which he started after his sister was murdered by her former partner.
In a post the following day, Koehler appeared to partially relax the ban, writing that “For years we’ve had many respectful relationships with the majority of CityNews staff … We want to keep those relationships and lines of communications open- with those reporters. An apology from CityNews and a retraction of the story is still expected.”