The CBSC is a not-for-profit corporation. It receives the majority of its funding from the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB), which is the organization that originally established the CBSC. The CBSC operates at arm’s length from the CAB.
The Adjudicating Panels are the groups of people who decide whether any broadcasting codes have been breached for complaints that reach the Panel stage in the CBSC complaints process.
Adjudicators are men and women who come from a variety of professional, ethnic, cultural and linguistic backgrounds. There are representatives from both the broadcasting industry and the general public on each Panel.
Adjudicators participate on the Panels on a voluntary basis.
This Panel examines complaints about English-language broadcasts. For each complaint file there are usually three broadcaster adjudicators and three public adjudicators plus the CBSC Chair, who is considered a public representative. The CBSC makes efforts to ensure that one or more adjudicators examining any particular complaint file comes from the same geographical region and/or broadcasting sector (i.e. radio, conventional television, specialty television, pay television) as the broadcaster implicated in the complaint.
This Panel examines complaints about French-language broadcasts. For each complaint file, there are usually three broadcaster adjudicators and three public adjudicators plus the CBSC Chair, who is considered a public representative. The CBSC makes efforts to ensure that one or more adjudicators examining any particular complaint file comes from the same geographical region and/or broadcasting sector (i.e. radio, conventional television, specialty television, pay television) as the broadcaster implicated in the complaint.
If a complaint involves a broadcast in a language other than English or French, the CBSC chooses decides which Panel will examine the complaint and tries to ensure participation by Adjudicators who are familiar with the language and culture at issue. For Adjudicators who do not speak the language, the CBSC has the broadcast content translated (and the complaint correspondence translated, if required).
This Panel deals with complaints that raise issues under the Journalistic Independence Code. The Journalistic Independence Code covers the diversity of news voices and the separation of news management structures in cases where broadcasting entities and newspapers are owned by the same parent company. For each complaint file, there are two broadcaster adjudicators and two public adjudicators, plus the CBSC Chair. At least one of the broadcaster adjudicators must be a journalist.
The Chair serves as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the CBSC and the Chair of the Board of Directors. The Chair represents the public and serves as chairperson of all Panel Adjudication meetings. The Chair is appointed by the CAB. The Chair is responsible for overall direction and leadership of the CBSC, serving as spokesperson for the organization and as liaison with government agencies, broadcasters, educational institutions and other groups interested in CBSC activities.
The CBSC Board of Directors is responsible for approving the CBSC’s Annual Report, for approving the list of Adjudicators, and for ensuring that the organization is meeting its general objectives. The individuals who serve on the Board are recommended by the Chair, approved by the existing Board and then officially elected by the CAB. The Board must include representatives from the broadcasting industry and from the general public, who represent the various regions of Canada.
The current Directors are:
Sylvie Courtemanche (Chair)
Zahera Mohamed
Kevin Dubé
Hudson Mack
Dean Proctor
Madeline Ziniak
Sam Bhalesar
Julie-Christine Gagnon
Ethan Faber
Rhonda Brown
Pascal Ouimet
The Nominating Committee selects the people who sit on the CBSC Adjudicating Panels. It ensures that the list of Adjudicators for each Panel includes a diversity of individuals with respect to gender, language, ethno-cultural community, geographic representation, abilities and professional experience. The Nominating Committee also ensures that the Adjudicators are objective, unbiased, have an interest in public service and are committed to the CBSC’s objectives.