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By Tuesday afternoon, Notley’s office had enlisted a retired journalist to conduct a review of the government’s policy “in light of the controversy,” the premier’s spokesperson Cheryl Oates said. Oates said initially said The Rebel would remain banned until the review concluded.

But on Wednesday, the government said, “in the meantime, no one will be excluded from government media events.”

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“We’ve heard a lot of feedback from Albertans and media over the course of the last two days and it’s clear we made a mistake. The government has appointed former Western Canadian Bureau Chief for Canadian Press, Heather Boyd to consult and give us recommendations on what the government’s media policies should be. In the meantime, no one will be excluded from government media events.”

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Levant responded in a statement of his own Wednesday, calling the NDP “a government that bullies people.”

“Except this time they didn’t get away with it,” he said in an email. “Until Notley’s blacklist was denounced in the national media, she was completely comfortable with infringing our freedom of the press.”

Last week, The Rebel complained to the premier’s office about three incidents where Rebel staff were allegedly barred from government events. In its response last Friday, the government defended its policy on the Rebel.

“Our client’s position remains that your client (The Rebel) and those who identify as being connected to (The Rebel) are not journalists and are not entitled to access media lock-ups or other such events,” reads a response from an Alberta Ministry of Justice lawyer, posted by The Rebel.