This page explains how BuzzLayer decides what to publish and why you can trust it. Here you will find the sources we rely on, the standards our journalists follow, and a clear process for challenging anything we get wrong. The goal is simple: show you exactly how our reporting is built, so you can judge it for yourself.
What official and primary sources do we use?
We treat government databases, public records and official statistical releases as the backbone of our reporting on Canadian policy, business and public life. These sources are authoritative, audited and freely accessible to any citizen.
- CBC News — Canada’s national public broadcaster, used for corroboration of breaking events and cross-referencing major national stories.
- Statistics Canada — The federal agency for demographic, economic and social data; our primary basis for any statistical claim about Canadian society.
- Elections Canada — The non-partisan agency that oversees federal elections; we rely on its data for campaign finance, voter turnout and electoral boundary reporting.
- Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada — The department responsible for technology policy, spectrum allocation and industry regulation; source for official tech-sector announcements and grant data.
- Corporations Canada — The federal corporate registry, used to verify ownership, incorporation dates and business status of companies we report on.
Which regulatory and standards bodies set the guidelines we follow?
Our work is shaped by Canadian law, voluntary industry standards and independent oversight bodies. We do not simply follow these rules — we reference them in our reporting and expect the institutions we cover to do the same.
- Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada — The federal privacy watchdog; we cite its findings on data breaches, consent practices and enforcement actions under PIPEDA.
- Canadian Association of Broadcasters — The industry body that sets ethical codes for news and current affairs; its standards inform our own editorial guidelines around accuracy and fairness.
- Ad Standards Canada — The independent body that administers the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards; we disclose affiliate relationships and ensure all commercial content complies with its transparency rules.
What do we rely on day to day?
Every BuzzLayer journalist has a set of tools and practices they reach for before publishing a single word. These are the everyday standards that turn raw information into verified journalism.
Our reporters start with primary documents — court filings, government press releases, company regulatory filings — rather than secondary summaries. For every statistic, we trace it back to the original Statistics Canada table or study. For every policy claim, we link to the relevant section of Canadian legislation or a ministerial statement. Our fact-checking lead, Priya Sharma, maintains a shared database of verified sources that the entire newsroom consults. When a story involves a named individual or organization, our general practice is to request comment at least 24 hours before publication, and to include that response or its absence in the piece. If a source is anonymous, readers will see an explicit explanation of why we granted anonymity and what we did to verify that person’s identity and knowledge.
How this works in practice
Here is a concrete example. In November 2024, reporter Chris O’Brien was writing about a cybersecurity startup that claimed to have raised $12 million from a venture capital firm. Chris opened the company’s record on Corporations Canada to confirm its directors and registration status. He then cross-referenced the funding claim against the venture firm’s own public portfolio page and a regulatory filing in the Ontario Business Registry. He called the company’s CEO twice, left a voicemail and received a reply by email. Laura Martinez, our cybersecurity editor, reviewed the sources and flagged that the claim about a “zero-day exploit” needed independent verification. She found a technical paper from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada describing similar vulnerabilities. The piece was published with a direct link to the company’s business registry record, the VC firm’s filing and the privacy commissioner’s paper. When a competitor later disputed the amount, Priya Sharma checked the original source and confirmed the story was accurate. The investment was real; the competitor had misread the currency. That process — source, verify, challenge, re-verify — happens on every article.
How to challenge our reporting
If you believe BuzzLayer has published something inaccurate, misleading or unfair, you have a direct and transparent path to raise it. We treat correction requests seriously and respond to every one within one business day.
Email corrections@buzzlayer.org with a clear description of the error, the URL of the article and your supporting evidence. Our Standards & Fact-Checking Lead, Priya Sharma (priya.sharma@buzzlayer.org, +1 416 555 0225), oversees the process. She will confirm receipt, investigate by consulting the original sources and the reporter involved, and issue a correction or clarification within five business days. If we change an article, the correction note will appear at the top of the piece and in our corrections log. If you prefer not to put your concern in writing, you may call our editorial line at +1 416 555 0220. For complaints that cannot be resolved through the corrections process, see our full complaints procedure.
We also welcome tips, documents and story ideas. Contact Chris O’Brien directly at chris.obrien@buzzlayer.org or use our secure tip form. All sources are protected by our confidentiality commitment: we will not identify you without your permission unless required by law.
Who owns and funds BuzzLayer?
BuzzLayer is owned and operated by Northern Beacon Media Inc., an Ontario corporation registered under business number 1003194827. Our registered office is Unit 12, 95 King Street East, Toronto, ON M5C 1G4. Revenue comes from display advertising, affiliate links, commercial partnerships, sponsored content, newsletter sponsorships and content licensing. Every piece of sponsored or commercial material is clearly labelled; affiliate links are always disclosed. No commercial relationship determines editorial conclusions. Our editor-in-chief, Alex Nguyen (alex.nguyen@buzzlayer.org), oversees all editorial decisions and has the final say on corrections and content. For a full breakdown of our ownership and funding, see our ownership and funding page.
In short
BuzzLayer exists to give English-speaking Canadians trustworthy, plain-English journalism about technology, policy and business. Every story relies on primary sources, is reviewed by an editor and checked for accuracy before publication. If we get something wrong, we fix it openly and quickly.