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Pierre Karl Péladeau, photo via Facebook.Quebecor's answer to La Presse, Le Journal de Montréal, has a long history of dispatching their journalists to the Desmarais' 21,000 acre "Sagard" compound.The newspaper even resorted to flying helicopters over the vast property to take pictures and then ran dramatic headlines comparing it to the court of Louis XIV. Which, when you look at the lavishness of the compound, is actually a pretty fair comparison.So as Péladeau, a public servant, pleads for his right to privacy, his company's crown jewel has been quite aggressive in infiltrating the private property of the Desmarais clan who are, at the end of the day, private citizens.
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Pierre-Karl might be on to something.But the point is not whether or not Péladeau is right about the Desmarais' influence on Canadian politics. PKP is using the media—his media—to advance his own narrative. Like the time he appeared on the news—on the station that he owns—denouncing the apparent cosy relationship between Liberal leader Jean Charest and his nemeses the Desmarais family. You can watch it here on this webportal, which he also owns.But the unfortunate reality is that the vast majority of news in Quebec is filtered through two huge corporations with close political ties. It is pretty common for the rest of Canada to roll their eyes whenever things start to get crazy in Quebec. But unlike the recent student riots, corruption scandals and austerity measures that have rocked la belle province, this is an issue that reaches far beyond its borders. The ripples of Quebec's veiled media war are quietly affecting everything from Alberta oil sands and Keystone XL all the way to American and French politics.