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Another news cycle, another round of chatter about Pierre Poilievre supposedly lacking a certain “security clearance.” The narrative pops up reliably whenever the Liberals are facing a bad week—and this was a very bad week. Ottawa just dropped a budget stuffed with massive deficit spending, creative accounting, and priorities that seem increasingly detached from the economic realities most Canadians face.

Yet somehow the headline isn’t:

“Government Unveils a Deficit-Bloated Budget in the Middle of a Cost-of-Living Crisis.”

Instead it’s:

“Questions Raised About Poilievre’s Security Clearance.”

Why?

Because this is a distraction cycle—one the media keeps falling for, or worse, actively enabling. In a healthy democracy, the press is supposed to hold power to account, not the opposition. But here we are, watching an entire media ecosystem chase shiny objects rather than scrutinizing the people actually writing the cheques, running the departments, and steering the country.

Canadians are left wondering:

• How does a story about an opposition leader’s supposed “clearance issue” overshadow billions in new spending?
• Why is the default setting to interrogate the critic rather than the government?
• Who benefits when attention shifts away from the details of the budget and toward personality-driven speculation?

Accountability journalism requires courage: asking uncomfortable questions of the people in charge, not the people criticizing them. When the national press shows more enthusiasm for policing opposition narratives than examining government choices, something in the system has gone off the rails.

The public deserves better.
Canada deserves better.
And democracy requires better.

The real question isn’t about Pierre Poilievre’s clearance.
It’s why the media keeps clearing the runway for a government that desperately needs scrutiny.