We prioritize official government documents, parliamentary transcripts, Hansard records, Parliamentary Budget Officer reports, Access to Information releases, and court records. These are the foundation of every article.
We supplement primary sources with reporting from established Canadian outlets including CBC, The Globe and Mail, Canadian Press, Global News, and Reuters. We verify claims across multiple outlets before including them.
Every article is built on a minimum of eight independently verifiable sources. Most articles cite between eight and eighteen. The complete source list is published with every article and is available for any reader to review.
We do not publish claims based solely on anonymous or unverifiable sources. If an anonymous tip leads us to a story, we independently verify the underlying facts through documented records before publishing.
Every article begins with documented facts — dates, numbers, official statements, and public records. We do not begin with a conclusion and search for evidence to support it. We begin with the evidence and follow where it leads.
When we quote a public figure, we use their exact words. We do not paraphrase inside quotation marks. Every direct quote is attributed to a named speaker with a date and a verifiable source.
When we cite statistics, spending figures, or data points, we trace them to their original source — typically a government report, budget document, or official dataset. We do not cite numbers from secondary analysis without noting the original data source.
We hold every party and every level of government to the same standard. Liberal, Conservative, NDP, federal, provincial — the standard is the documented record, not the party affiliation. We do not exempt allies or target opponents.
When we document a contradiction between a promise and a policy outcome, we include the relevant context — the timeline, the stated rationale, and the opposing perspective. The reader should have enough information to form their own judgment.
We do not call politicians names, question their character outside the documented record, or use language designed to provoke rather than inform. The factual record is the strongest argument. We let it speak.
If we publish an error of fact — a wrong number, a misattributed quote, an incorrect date — we will make our best effort to correct it within 48 hours of being notified, with a visible correction notice at the top of the article. We do not silently edit published work. The correction states what was wrong, what the correct information is, and when the correction was made.
If you believe we have published an error of fact, please contact us at our contact page with the article URL, the specific claim you believe is incorrect, and the source that supports the correction. We review every submission.
The Northern Writ does not receive funding from any government body, political party, or public grant program. Our editorial decisions are not influenced by any funding relationship because no such relationship exists.
We do not accept corporate sponsorships, native advertising, or paid placements. There is no advertiser whose interests we are protecting. Our only obligation is to the accuracy of the factual record.
The Northern Writ is supported by its readers. If you value sourced, independent journalism that holds all governments accountable, the most meaningful thing you can do is share our work and subscribe to our daily briefing.
Every source. Every contradiction. Yours to share.