60 persons, including leading Radio-Canada talent, ask the public broadcaster to disavow decision
By Denis Carmel
OTTAWA – Last week, between St-Jean-Baptiste and Canada Day, the CRTC issued a decision blaming the CBC/Radio-Canada for saying on the air the N-word, which is part of the title of an iconic book in Québec, written by Pierre Vallières, a prominent member of the FLQ, a separatist/terrorist group of the sixties.
A letter signed by 60 people including leading on-air talent and journalists of Radio-Canada was sent on Sunday to the higher echelons of the CBC/Radio-Canada and published in La Presse on Monday. It asks the senior executives to challenge the CRTC decision in the name of journalistic independence and mentions the dangers of censorship and self-censorship.
That correspondence also generated a tweet by Nathalie Roy, the minister of culture for the province of Québec, who said the decision is a serious infringement on freedom of expression and that “We will follow the next steps with interest, notably if is challenged in Court.”
The letter has also triggered reactions from commentators, notably in the Montreal dailies, La Presse and Le Devoir, severally criticizing the CRTC and its decision.
Future steps
The CBC/Radio-Canada must apologize, in writing, to the complainant and show how it will ensure such incidents will not re-occur, as well as tell the Commission how the segments posted online will be dealt with to ensure the impact is mitigated.
Failure to do so will trigger a confrontation between the public broadcaster and the regulator, which, in effect, nullified a decision of the Société Radio-Canada ombudsman at the very beginning of the CBC/Radio-Canada’s brand-new five-year licence term.
An appeal to the Federal Court of Appeal will probably be fruitless, the CRTC having not, in our opinion, exceeding its jurisdiction, or made errors of procedure.
We should note the comments and complaint were made in the period immediately following George Floyd’s killing in the USA, which heightened sensitivities on racial issues on both side of the border.
The debate, as it is, seems to be mostly a Québeco-Québecois issue constrained within the borders of Québec, but it could spill over in the rest of Canada, or it will just fade away in the doldrums of summer.
À suivre…
