We got a bit of a surprise yesterday when we received a call from somebody identifying themself as a producer of social issues reports for a very prominent American media conglomerate. We will not name them here, as this is all very preliminary, and we are very open to saying that the network that is interested is most definitely not our first choice for collaboration, and we told them so.

We have confidence that our followers will be able to figure out who they are and why we are not as excited as some would think we would be.

Apparently, they learned about our story through a post by the social media influencer who told us they were sharing our story with their 100,000 plus followers. For details, see the short article in 'Latest News' dated January 12, 2024. That much appreciated support is also most likely the reason why our visitor log has been running at warp drive for the past three days. In addition to having experienced the busiest day in 2024 (albeit only 13 days at the time) our new Homepage is now the second most popular page overall of either the original or the new hosting sites, with the one in first place having had an eight-month head start.

Currently, our following is between six and seven times the average, and it is not uncommon for us to have multiple visitors, as many as ten, on the new Homepage at the same time.

There is no doubt that the combination of the shift to www.themortgagestation.ca, the creation of the Homepage synopsis, the optimization of our content, the anonymous implementation of search engine optimization, and the efforts of the social media influencer, have collectively put us into a very different place regarding traffic and public awareness. We are, however, facing a balancing act, as the social media influencer and the television network are at polarized ends of the political and social spectrums, and we simply do not know the true agenda of the broadcaster, which is very 'America first' focused.

We do not want to push off what could be a long-term friend with similar ideologies for a flash in the pan report that may not result in generating any real interest.

Contrary to the unsupported rants of the anonymous aggressor who claimed to represent the brokers at Verico the Mortgage Station, we base our stories on facts. That is why we have reported on various abusive actions in Simcoe County that no other media company has shown the integrity to step up and expose. However, regardless of the risks, we have never been successfully sued for defamation or libel. The only person who tried failed and was ultimately branded by the court to be a vexatious litigant, which banned him from ever using litigation to harass others. In a follow up motion for contempt, he was ordered by the court to pay $5,000.00 in costs to our producer and also to never post or publish anything about him again.

Anybody can huff, puff, and bluff to intimidate the media not to expose their own wrongdoing, but in a court of law, evidence and facts are all that matter.

We know how to substantiate what we write. That is why, despite their threats, the owners of Verico the Mortgage Station have taken no legal action to prevent the production of our expose documentary about usury, or loan sharking that was undertaken by their brokers. That crime was committed by Renee Dadswell, with the assistance of Lisa Purchase, and the awareness and consent of David Flude. It was then ignored in the name of profit by both W. Mark Squire, President and Chief Operating Officer, Verico Financial Group Inc., and Yvonne Ziomecki - Fisher, Executive Vice President, Marketing & Sales at HomeEquity Bank.

The broadcaster in question has a history of not being so concerned about the facts, as has been substantiated by recent court rulings.

Also, their political leanings are antithetical to our philosophy of shared community care. On the flip side, exposure by them will draw more attention to our story by other mainstream media, hopefully this time in Canada. That is inevitable to occur now anyway, as the work of social media influencers reaches a phenomenal audience of both direct followers and those that learn from sharing, but the American broadcast would speed up the process.

We are not sure why, but this offer is tripping our 'Spidey Sense' and we are hoping to get some feedback from our followers, many of whom have known us and our work for up to 14 years.

We have created a simple six question survey, which is linked to the top of this page, but only the last question is 'mandatory'. That question reads "Given that the intent of this documentary is to help protect the financial security of seniors, do you believe that it is a good idea to work with this American broadcaster that is known for sensationalizing factual content?"The other five questions are designed to help us better understand who we are serving, but if you don't want to answer you can just brush past them to the final question.

We appreciate the assistance of our followers, and we hope we can count on you for some constructive feedback.