September 11, 2026 — The Independent Press Gallery is demanding an explanation after Juno News reporter Keean Bexte was forcibly removed from the Banff Centre during Prime Minister Mark Carney’s cabinet retreat shortly before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived to address ministers.
Bexte had spent the day reporting from the retreat and interviewing cabinet ministers and Calgary Mayor Jeromy Farkas without incident. Video published by Bexte appears to show an official involved in his removal carrying identification marked “RCMP/GRC” for the Cabinet Planning Forum.
Bexte alleges that officers assigned to Zelenskyy’s security detail singled him out and forced him from the property. Farkas later defended Bexte’s conduct, saying the reporter had asked hard but fair questions and published his answers in full.
A reporter should not be permitted to question Canadian cabinet ministers all day and then be forcibly removed when a visiting foreign leader arrives. If security officials had a legitimate reason for removing Mr. Bexte, Canadians deserve to know what it was and who issued the order.
No evidence has been publicly presented suggesting that Bexte posed a security threat or disrupted the retreat.
Canadian journalists must be free to question political leaders without being excluded because of their outlet, editorial position or anticipated questions. If Bexte was removed to prevent him from questioning Zelenskyy, it represents a serious attack on press freedom and the public’s right to know.
Sheila Gunn Reid
President, Independent Press Gallery
info@independentpressgallery.ca