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“I know Justin Trudeau doesn’t agree with The Rebel,” he said. “I know that. But he should stand up for Canadian values like freedom of the press at the UN.”

The Rebel had made arrangements for its Alberta bureau chief Sheila Gunn Reid and producer Meaghan MacSween to be in Marrakesh when the conference takes place November 7 to 18. Their applications for media accreditation to UNFCCC were denied and an application for a cameraman is yet to receive a response.

“The UN can’t stand having three skeptical journalists out of 3,000 journalists they’re accrediting — most of whom love the UN’s global warming agenda,” added Levant. “What a perfect symbol of the UN and the global warming debate: intolerant of dissent, arrogant and undemocratic. And sad proof that the journalists who will be attending Marrakech are all UN-approved.”

In an October 6 letter requesting the UNFCCC reconsider its decision, a lawyer acting for The Rebel argues the publication is a bona fide news organization. “The Rebel brings to the Canadian community an intelligent and informed approach to everyday issues with a conservative focus,” said Stuart Robertson of O’Donnell, Robertson and Sanfilippo. “It has a staff of 25 persons … A member of the staff is accredited with the National Press Gallery at the Parliament of Canada.”

Robertson, who also works with Postmedia and the National Post, adds that The Rebel has an editorial policy which requires that subjects of its coverage be given an opportunity to provide a response in advance, and that it practices other editorial and legal protocols typical of a news organization. He also notes that Article 19 of the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights includes the right of all people to “receive and impart information and ideas through any media.”