CRTC receives thousands of comments on ‘false and misleading news’ amendment

A small and seemingly technical regulatory change under way at the CRTC about the broadcasting of false and misleading news has inadvertently drawn thousands of public comments directed at the commission. But as CRTC staff sort through unhappy messages about a “completely unacceptable” amendment that would create the ability to “manipulate” the news, it was a parliamentary committee that, as recently as December, has spearheaded a push for the regulatory change. The Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations, an obscure joint House and Senate committee that scrutinizes regulations to ensure they are enacted correctly and consistent with Canadian law, wrote a letter to the CRTC on Dec. 23 suggesting amendments to the CRTC regulations. The CRTC’s broadcasting regulations currently prohibit the broadcasting of “false or misleading news,” but in the Dec. 23 letter to the commission, Jacques Rousseau, a legal adviser for the committee, suggested that this is not consistent with the Supreme Court’s 1992 ruling R. v. Zundel. On the basis of freedom of expression under the Charter, the Zundel decision struck down the Criminal Code’s prohibition on the publication of false information or news. In a consultations announced in December and January, the CRTC said it intends to amend its prohibition on the broadcast of false or misleading news so that it will instead be a prohibition on “any news that the licensee knows is false or misleading and that endangers or is likely to endanger the lives, health or safety of the public.” The committee's Dec. 23 letter responded to the CRTC's proposed regulatory change, noting that it too is very similar to the Criminal Code provision that the court struck out. “The wording of this proposal is similar to the clause in the Criminal Code that the Supreme Court overturned for constitutional reasons in the Zundel decision,” the committee letter said. “It is difficult to see why this prohibition could be judged valid.” Brian Masse, NDP MP and vice-chair of the scrutiny of regulations committee, said the committee does not make judgments about the effectiveness of regulations so much as whether they are consistent with the law. “We thought a clarification was necessary because of the Zundel decision,” he said in an interview. “It’s kind of like a referee, to follow up. We do that with all kinds of regulation.” The Wire Report spoke with some industry insiders who, after looking into the proposed amendments, considered them more or less small technical changes. But the issue has landed among the daily headlines. The Globe and Mail reported Monday that the move has “led to allegations of interference by the Prime Minister’s Office and a hastily called investigation by federal politicians, who were caught off guard by the move.” NDP MP Charlie Angus, his party’s digital affairs critic, held a news conference about the issue Monday, where he drew links between the proposed amendment and the coming launch of Quebecor Media Inc.’s Sun TV News channel, being led by Kory Teneycke, the former director of communications to Prime Minister Stephen Harper. But industry insiders—even those in companies competing with Quebecor—say the amendment is not linked to Sun TV News and that the timing is coincidental. As of Feb. 8, the commission had received 1,927 comments on the proposed amendments, most of them from individuals. “Lifting this restriction will only increase bias and misinformation. There is no reason that we should allow broadcasting inaccurate news—ever—it serves no good purpose,” submitted Micah Galizia on Jan. 12. “I strongly instruct the CRTC to maintain this standard and in fact if it could be strenthend that would be a good thing,” added another commenter, Deborah Jodoin. “When standards are eroded our already compromized system becomes a tool for those who would manipulate.” The scrutiny of regulations committee has also recommended amendments to the CRTC’s prohibition on broadcasting programming that contains obscene or profane languages. The deadline for comments for the consultation launched in January is Feb. 9. sdoyle@thewirereport.ca -- CLARIFICATION: An earlier version of this story suggested that the regulations committee's Dec. 23 letter to the commission preceded the CRTC's proposal to amend its regulation prohibiting the broadcast of false or misleading news. In fact the CRTC proposed the amendments in two separate consultations in December and January, and the Dec. 23 letter responded to the consultation launched in December.

CRTC receives thousands of comments on ‘false and misleading news’ amendment

Broadcast | February 8, 2011

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