Q. “Your editorial on the choice to be made between election night and the ADISQ gala is relevant. But what saddened us, my spouse and I even more, is the fact that we have to pay additional fees to tune to either RDI or LCN to follow the elections. We find it insulting that our state television – namely Radio-Canada – is forcing us to subscribe to a pay channel to watch the elections. An arrangement for the evening would have been appreciated. ”
Johanne cloutier
R. Mme Cloutier, the low turnout in municipal elections (38.7% in all of Quebec) forces us to ask ourselves this kind of question. Unlike provincial or federal elections, neither Radio-Canada nor TVA interrupt their regular programming to present special programs during municipal elections. Neither did the new Noovo channel.
If there had not been an ADISQ gala, it is Everybody talks about it which would have been broadcast on Radio-Canada TV while the votes were being counted across Quebec. On TVA, when we were wondering who, Marie-Josée Savard or Bruno Marchand, was going to take over Quebec City Hall, it was Revolution and The island of love that were broadcast. In Noovo it was Double occupation.
This clearly raises questions.
That said, we must understand that municipal elections have a particularity. Unlike provincial and federal elections, not all Quebecers are affected by the same races. In Gaspé, for example, Mayor Daniel Côté was re-elected without opposition even before the elections. Elections by acclamation were thus held in 540 Quebec municipalities. Some of these citizens may not want to see the airwaves monopolized by elections that do not directly concern them (even if several others are undoubtedly interested in knowing what is happening elsewhere!).
Conversely, the citizens of Montreal and Quebec, for example, where tight races were announced, could not effectively follow the results on television without being subscribed to RDI or LCN.
Marc Pichette, Senior Director, Promotion and Public Relations, at Radio-Canada, points out that on the radio, on ICI Première, no less than seven different election evenings were offered to citizens depending on the region. All the results were also available on the Radio-Canada website by municipality and even by sector or borough.
“This is the approach that best responds to an election which, by its very nature, varies depending on whether you live in Quebec City, Montreal, Matane, Gatineau or Saint-Augustin-de-Desmaures,” he said.
Should unscrambling of RDI and LCN nevertheless have been offered? This was done at the start of the pandemic to “facilitate the flow of information, crucial and essential”. Given the importance of municipal elections and the fact that they only occur every four years, this idea appears both relevant and reasonable. It could help counter the growing indifference surrounding this event and strengthen democracy.
We have four years to put things right.