Dimitri Lascaris Ontario tour March 2019

It is no secret that the United States government lies to provoke wars and often has the support of the corporate main stream media to help it spread the message. Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky in their book Manufacturing Consent, outline a conceptual model in political economy that explains how propaganda and systemic biases function in corporate media. Their propaganda model contends that corporate media is not a neutral venue for truth. Instead, it is a vehicle that advances the interests of media owners and the elites.

Can the mainstream media be relied upon to give us real news about Venezuela? The tour hopes to explore this question any many more.

Tour with independent journalist Dimitri Lascaris, who was in Venezuela in early February reporting for The Real News Network. Dimitri will be speaking about what he witnessed in Venezuela and share compelling video footage and on the ground testimony about the challenges faced by ordinary Venezuelans. His reports provide nuance and details which are absent from most of the mainstream media and often contradicts what has been reported about Venezuela. While in Caracas, he spoke to Venezuelans of different political stripes, and attended public events with both opposition groups and supporters to get as accurate view of the situation on the ground.

Biography of Dimitri Lascaris

After graduating from the University of Toronto Faculty of Law in 1991, Dimitri began his legal career at the Wall Street law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell, first working from the firm’s New York offices and then joining the firm’s offices in Paris, France. While at Sullivan & Cromwell, Dimitri acted for the underwriting syndicate in what was, at the time, the largest initial public offering of common stock in United States history. He also acted for issuers and underwriters in numerous other cross-border securities offerings, including the maiden United States bond offering of the Bank of Greece.

In 2004, Dimitri joined one of Canada’s leading class action law firms, Siskinds LLP. While at Siskinds, Dimitri co-founded and led Canada’s largest and most accomplished team of securities class action lawyers. From 2004 to 2016, the Siskinds securities class actions team recovered more than $450 million for aggrieved investors. In 2012, Dimitri was named by Canadian Lawyer Magazine as one of the 25 most influential lawyers in Canada, and in 2013, he was named by Canadian Business Magazine as one of the 50 most influential persons in Canadian business. Canadian Business Magazine described Dimitri as the “fiercest legal advocate for shareholder rights.”

In July 2016, Dimitri retired from Siskinds and the practice of law in order to devote himself to activism and journalism. He is now a correspondent and Board member of The Real News Network and the Chair of the Board of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East.

In Canada’s 2015 federal election, Dimitri ran for the Green Party of Canada in the riding of London West. Subsequently, he served as Justice Critic on the shadow cabinet of the Green Party. He is currently the Justice Critic in the Shadow Cabinet of the Green Party of Quebec.

For media inquiries contact:

Toronto – Raul Burbano, [email protected], 416 522 8615

Ottawa – Kevin Skerrett, [email protected], 613 864 1590

London – Marie-France Arismendi, [email protected], 519 851 0122