Mr. Chairman of the Board of Radio-Canada/CBC, Michael Goldbloom,
We, the signatories of this letter, are aware that the management of CBC/Radio-Canada must make a decision whether or not to appeal the recent decision of the CRTC.
The CRTC asks Radio-Canada to apologize for having allowed a columnist to pronounce on the air, in a factual and legitimate way, the title of the work by Pierre Vallières white niggers of america.
We would like to emphasize a fundamental point raised by this CRTC decision.
This is because it is up to Radio-Canada’s editorial management to define independently how to deal with subjects according to its own editorial policy and journalistic standards and practices. They are also the most demanding of all the media in the country. Otherwise, it would be giving this role to the CRTC. Faced with this interference by the CRTC in the editorial policy of Radio-Canada, it is important, in our opinion, to appeal this decision in order to have the higher courts decide on this question of democratic interest, beyond the context of the use of the n-word.
It would be a dangerous precedent if the CRTC appropriated this prerogative. In addition, if this decision is not challenged, it could eventually be extended to other media over which the CRTC exercises and will exercise more of a regulatory role in the future.
We therefore ask you to commit to contesting this decision of the CRTC.
Please, Mr. President, accept the expression of our best feelings.
* Signed this letter:
Michel Arpin, former CRTC vice-president, broadcasting 2005-2010
Yvan Asselin, former general manager of French radio at Radio-Canada
Paule Beaugrand-Champagne, former president of the Quebec Press Council
Carole Beaulieu, former editor-in-chief/publisher of News
Maud Beaulieu, former Chief Content Officer, Western Region, Radio-Canada
Claudine Blais, former editor-in-chief at Radio-Canada, guest professor in journalism, UdeM
Marc Blondeau, ex-director of CKAC/Télémédia, L’actualité/Rogers Média, TVA/LCN and ex-member of the Quebec Press Council
Marie-Andrée Boivin, former research journalist, radio, Radio-Canada
Pierre Bruneau, news anchor, TVA Nouvelles
Tony Burman, ex-editor-in-chief, CBC News
Mario Cardinal, former Radio-Canada journalist/host/ombudsman, writer
Luc Chartrand, former journalist/correspondent for Radio-Canada
Denis Collette, former CHFA director, Radio-Canada Alberta
Manon Cornellier, former editorialist/parliamentary correspondent, The duty
Pierre Craig, former journalist and host of Radio-Canada
Frances Cutler, former Director, Office of Employment Equity, CBC
Bernard Derome, ex-journalist and host of Newscast from Radio Canada
Gaetan Deschênes, former director of regional radio stations for Radio-Canada
Bernard Descôteaux, former director of To have to
Anne-Marie DesRoches, ex-Director of French Broadcasting Policy-CRTC
Jeffrey Dvorkin, former ombudsman, NPR, Washington, D.C. and former Managing Editor and Chief Journalist, CBC Radio
Michèle Fortin, former vice-president of Radio-Canada and former president of Télé-Québec
Paul Gaffney, ex-producer television current affairs and former producer and senior director, corporate and regulatory affairs, CBC
Guy Gendron, former Radio-Canada ombudsman
Réal Germain, ex-vice-president 98.5, Cogeco consultant
Renaud Gilbert, former Radio-Canada ombudsman
Daniel Gourd, former vice-president of television at Radio-Canada
Geneviève Guay, former director of radio information for Radio-Canada
John H. Kennedy, former Head of TV Drama for CBC/regional director for the province of BC
Frank Koller, former foreign correspondent, CBC News
Sylvain Lafrance, former vice-president of French services, Radio-Canada
Jean-François Lépine, former journalist and host of Radio-Canada
Pierre Martineau, general manager of 98.5 and vice-president of talk stations at Cogeco Media
Michaël Nguyen, president of the FPJQ
Pierre Noreau, professor of law, researcher at the Public Law Research Center of the University of Montreal
Anne Panasuk, former Radio-Canada journalist
Jean Paré, founding director of the magazine Newsfounding president of the Quebec Association of Magazine Publishers, president of Éditions Rogers Media
Jean Pelletier, former director of public affairs at Radio-Canada
Alain Pineau, former vice-president of planning and regulatory affairs, Radio-Canada
Micheline Provost, Vice-President of the Quebec Association of Radio-Canada Pensioners
Armande Saint-Jean ex-journalist, retired professor of journalism
Claude Saint-Laurent, former director general of information (television) at Radio-Canada
Christine St-Pierre, MNA for L’Acadie and former Minister of Culture and Communications, former journalist
Alain Saulnier, former director general of information (French services) of Radio-Canada
Micheline Savoie, former director of equitable representation in CBC/SRC programming
Monique Simard, former member of the panel of experts on the revision of broadcasting and telecommunications legislation (Yale Report)
Pauline Sincennes, former Regional Director, Radio-Canada, British Columbia
Stan Staples, former director, research and strategy, CBC/Radio-Canada
Richard Stursberg, former vice-president of CBC English services
Pierre Tourangeau, ex-ombudsman of Radio-Canada
Luci Tremblay, former director of communications Festival d’été de Québec
Pierre Trudel, former member of the panel of experts on the revision of broadcasting and telecommunications legislation (Yale Report), professor of law
Talin Vartanyan, former producer, CBC Radio
Yanick Villedieu, former Radio-Canada host
Kealy Wilkinson, Former Special Advisor, Planning, English Services Division