u/RicochetMedia

Welcome to r/RicochetMedia — serving communities from coast to coast to coast with critical reporting

Hello everyone! I'm Sophia, Ricochet Media's Audience Engagement Editor. This is our new home for all things Ricochet Media — our work, community updates, latest podcast episodes and more.

We're an independent, non-profit Canadian news outlet founded in 2014, and we exist for one reason: to produce critical, public-interest journalism.

This sub is for engaging with folks across the country (and beyond) on the issues that affect working people's lives everyday, and building a people-powered press together.

What to Post
Post anything you think the community would find interesting, helpful, or infuriating (in a productive way). Feel free to share your thoughts, questions, and reactions to our stories, tips on underreported stories we should be covering, your thoughts on Canada's climate policy, Indigenous rights, labour struggles in your neighborhood, corporate accountability, or anything going on in your community that you think deserves deeper, more critical coverage.

Community Vibe
We're all about being friendly, constructive, and inclusive — and yes, you can be all three of those things while still being furious about the state of things. Let's build a space where everyone feels comfortable sharing, debating, and connecting over meaningful reporting.

How to Get Started

1. Introduce yourself in the comments below.
2. Post something today! We're to happy to answer questions about our reporting/behind-the-scenes of our stories.
3. If you know someone who would love this community, invite them to join.
4. Check out our podcast In Bed with the Elephant, where we take a closer look at the big and small conversations that matter to Canadians today.

Thanks for being part of the very first wave. We've been holding power to account since 2014 — now you're part of that too. : )

This morning CANSEC, Canada’s largest defence convention, kicked off in Ottawa.

The event brings together thousands of reps of private defence companies and dozens of delegations from foreign governments to showcase “leading-edge technology, products and services for land-based, naval, aerospace and joint forces military units.” 

Just hours after the portal for media accreditation opened, I applied for status on assignment for Ricochet Media – in particular to follow up on our ongoing coverage on the provincial and fed govt’s interest in developing Northern Ontario and militarizing the Arctic. 

Our request for a press pass to cover the event was declined on the basis that our organization “does not meet the CADSI Eligibility Requirements.” Read the full story here

A key piece of the convention’s messaging is its relationship to government - on its homepage, the convention reports that attendees will also include 45 MPs, senators and cabinet ministers.

Today’s program even featured a big announcement from Prime Minister Mark Carney to attendees that Canada has entered into negotiations to buy Saab's GlobalEye airborne early warning aircraft, the latest installment of the Carney government’s plan to militarize the Arctic. 

This year’s keynote speakers also include Industry Minister Mélanie Joly and Joe Biden’s former national security advisor, Jake Sullivan.

I reached out to CADSI’s media relations team via phone and email, including Director of Communications Monique Scotti, and received no response. However, one of my several attempts to get an answer about our press pass refusal elicited this auto response from CADSI’s general contact email.

“With the government of Canada's renewed focus on defence, including an increase in spending to hit NATO’s two per cent target this fiscal year, CADSI is receiving a significant uptick in requests for service, advice, and assistance. Rest assured that your message has been received, and a member of our team will reply as soon as possible.”

Stay tuned for more tomorrow/this week - in lieu of covering conference activities, I’ll be covering the protest against CANSEC!