OTTAWA – Corus Entertainment radio host Pierre (Doc) Mailloux was once again found to have breached the Human Rights clause of the CAB’s Code of Ethics, by the CBSC this week.
The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council Quebec Regional Panel concluded that some of the comments made by the host Mailloux on CKAC about people with trisomy 21 (commonly known as Down syndrome) "were abusive and unduly discriminatory," says the release.
This is far from the first time Mailloux has drawn complaints – or the wrath of the CBSC.
In the episode, a caller to the program objected to the comments Mailloux had made on a previous episode about a television advertisement that had focused on people with trisomy 21. Mailloux took the opportunity on his talk show to re-state his view that, by comparing “normal” women to those afflicted with trisomy 21, the advertisement was insulting to “normal” women. He added that people with trisomy 21 do not have the same value in society as healthy individuals. He also continually referred to people with trisomy 21 as “mongoloids” despite the objections of his co-host and the caller to the use of that term.
"In the view of the Quebec Regional Panel, the foregoing dialogue reflects a disrespect for those afflicted with trisomy 21," said the Quebec regional panel. "On the level of societal value, Mailloux is almost filled with contempt for the notion that a ‘normal’ woman would be compared as equal to a trisomy 21-handicapped woman. It is, he goes so far to say, ‘dangerous, unhealthy and inappropriate’ to make such a suggestion. And then, adding insult to injury, he insists on the use of the terms ‘mongoloid’ and ‘mongolism’, despite the attempts on the part of his co-host, Janine, to make him understand that the terms are not only inappropriate in North America but also pejorative."
"To all of the foregoing, the Panel wishes to add the expression of its concern about the danger of public desensitization which may result from such comments. The host with a microphone is, by definition, a powerful figure. He or she is in a position of credibility, underscored in this case by the professional qualification of Doctor Pierre Mailloux. Comments of this kind are at risk of ‘sticking’, that is, of leaving audience members with a sense of accuracy or legitimacy, which represents a danger for the identifiable group being disparaged, if not reviled.
The Panel also found a violation of Clause 9(c) of the CAB Code of Ethics for the use of the f-word in English during the broadcast.
CKAC is required to: 1) announce the decision, in the following terms, once during peak listening hours within three days following the release of this decision and once more within seven days following the release of this decision during the time period in which Doc Mailloux was broadcast; 2) within the fourteen days following the broadcast of the announcements, to provide written confirmation of the airing of the statement to the complainant who filed the Ruling Request; and 3) at that time, to provide the CBSC with a copy of that written confirmation and with air check copies of the broadcasts of the two announcements which must be made by CKAC.
