CBC says CRTC decision on French N-word threat to journalistic independence; issues apology to complainant

Editor's note: for clarity, this story makes reference to the title of a book containing a racial slur in the French language. CBC/ Radio-Canada has issued a public apology for airing a segment on ICI Radio-Canada Première in which its host and public commentator used the full French-language N-word, but said that the CRTC’s decision to mandate the public broadcaster to do so is a “threat” to journalistic independence. In its statement issued Wednesday, the CBC said it was apologizing “because we believe it is the right thing to do, not because the CRTC tells us to.” The broadcaster said it will be appealing the commission's decision to mandate the broadcaster to: provide a public written apology to the complainant; to report to the commission, by no later than Sept. 27, on the internal measures and programming best practices that it will put in place for the future, with the report made publicly available; and that Radio-Canada indicate, no later than July 29, how it intends to mitigate the impact of the N-word in its segment which is still available online. “Our position on the N-word is clear. The CRTC did not ban the use of the word in its decision. Nonetheless, we consider that the CRTC has overstepped its authority with respect to the independence of the public broadcaster. Its decision of June 29 poses a threat because the commission has attempted to give itself the power to interfere with journalistic independence,” the broadcaster stated. Leon Mar, CBC’s director of media relations, told the Wire Report in a follow-up email that it has not yet filed the appeal. In its apology, the CBC acknowledged that the N-word is a hurtful racial slur in both the English and French languages and that its use in 2020 “was hurtful to some audience members and employees” despite it being used in a journalistic context. In 2020, the radio program Le 15-18 on ICI Radio-Canada Première aired a segment in which commentator Simon Jodoin and host Annie Desrochers discussed a petition to fire a Concordia University professor who quoted the title of Pierre Vallières’s book Nègres blancs d’Amérique. The host and commentator said the N-word in French three times and once in English during the six minute segment. An individual filed a complaint to the program which, over the course of two years, escalated to the commission. Last month the commission released its decision on the matter with two dissenting opinions. It determined that Radio-Canada did not “implement all the necessary measures to mitigate the impact of the ‘N-word’ on its audience” given the current social context of the word and its status as a public broadcaster. In response, more than 50 journalists, program hosts and public commentators for Radio-Canada published an open letter in the July 4th edition of La Presse asking the broadcaster’s senior management to “vigorously challenge” the decision. “Some of our journalists have expressed the view that this is solely an issue of free speech, but we all know that words can wound and need to be used with care. That is why we will apologize to the listener who filed a complaint. The use of this word is hurtful to many in our audience and to our own employees and for that, we are deeply sorry,” the CBC stated Wednesday. The broadcaster said it will be adding a warning to the program which remains available online to all listeners, and that Radio-Canada is launching an internal review to examine its policies and standards regarding harmful language. “We have listened carefully to a wide range of opinions on this issue; from journalists, from our employees including Black and racialized employees, and from the public. These are important and emotional discussions. Our mandate is to inform, enlighten and entertain Canadians. Sometimes our programs provoke and even offend, but as the public broadcaster we must take care to not be hurtful,” it wrote. The CBC said even though it is taking steps to mitigate harmful language in the future, the CRTC must be questioned on its jurisdiction regarding journalistic matters. “As the CRTC's own dissenting opinions have pointed out, the commission does not have the authority or jurisdiction to make this decision and, in exercising its discretionary powers, it ignored the freedom of the press guaranteed in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and in the Broadcasting Act. That was a serious error. We simply do not accept the CRTC's interference in journalism in Canada,” it stated. CRTC vice-chair of Broadcasting Caroline Simard, and commissioner Joanne Levy were the two dissenting voices in the matter arguing there was a lack of public consultation on the issue as the word has evolved differently in French- and English-language, and among their respective communities. They also argued the decision is subjective, based on the objectives of the Broadcasting Act, while ignoring the “applicable law” in Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Simard said it ignored Canadians’ right to not be offended. – Reporting by Jenna Cocullo at jcocullo@thewirereport.ca and editing by Michael Lee-Murphy at mleemurphy@thewirereport.ca.

CBC says CRTC decision on French N-word threat to journalistic independence; issues apology to complainant

News | July 13, 2022

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CBC says CRTC decision on French N-word threat to journalistic independence; issues apology to complainant

News | July 13, 2022

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