REPORT Magazine is proud to bill itself as "Western Canada's Conservative Voice" and today, Canada's government, on behalf of all taxpayers, were pleased to give "Canada's Conservative Voice" a grant of $27,124.

This, of course, was the day after CBC announced about 800 layoffs. Some employees - but, notably, not management -- said the layoffs were because of a budget shortfall it hoped Canada's government, on behalf of all taxpayers, might cover. For better or worse, CBC is not "Western Canada's Conservative Voice."

"The Government of Canada is proud to support editorial content that promotes Canadian ideas, history, and culture," said Edmonton MP Rona Ambrose. "We are committed to the preservation of our heritage and the promotion of our values to keep our identity strong now and in the future."

"We are very much appreciative to the federal government for helping promote Canadian culture," said Curtis Stewart, President of CanMedia Inc., publisher of REPORT Magazine. "If it was not for assistance like this, many publications would not be able to exist. Not only does this help promote Canadian heritage, it also helps keep employment in Canada."

REPORT Magazine's cover story this month is about Western Canadian separatism and Western Canadian anger at the rest of Canada for letting all that coalition nonsense happen.

""If ...the Conservatives bend over to win central Canadian support, then the only option Westerners have, given that all other options have been tried and failed, [would be] independence," a Lethbridge College political scientists tells REPORT.

Now, ahem, given my professional occupation, I'm all for any government helping out journalism endeavours, but I can't recall the last time any federal government gave a grant to a Quebec magazine that published sympathetic separatist articles.

In other media news this week: Sun Media closed two weeklies in Alberta.