Ottawa, September 8, 1999 – The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) today released two decisions concerning Télévision Quatre Saisons (TQS). The first of these two decisions dealt with a comedy show with a religious satirical theme entitled Dieu reçoit. Viewers complained of the “blasphemous content of the program”.
The Quebec Regional Council considered the complaint under the Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ (CAB) Code of Ethics. It found no breach.
[T]he Council finds that the humour in Dieu reçoit is undeniably irreverent, certainly impious and arguably, at times, in bad taste. It is casual and flippant with respect to certain traditional Catholic practices, even as to the undeified appearance and nature of God. It is not, however, in the Council’s view, at any time, bitter, nasty, disdainful or hateful about Catholicism and certainly never about individuals on the basis of their religion.
The Council noted that TQS changed the show’s early evening time slot after the first two broadcasts in response to complaints it had received. The Council further noted that since then the show has been completely taken off the air. The Council stated the following with respect to these actions taken by TQS:
[T]he CBSC has often observed that a broadcaster’s decision to accede to the requests of viewers (or listeners) is a mark of its responsiveness to its market, not an admission of the breach of any broadcast standards. Even in circumstances where, as here, a program is not found to have exceeded the broadcasters’ own common set of broadcast principles, its broadcaster may determine that its show would be better modified or even removed from the airwaves to accommodate the tastes of its audience. This neither adds to nor takes away from the Council’s role as the independent arbiter regarding questions of compliance (or non-compliance) with the Codes which it administers.
In another decision released today, the Quebec Regional Council found TQS in breach for failing to classify a program in accordance with the Violence Code and to include the appropriate rating icon on screen. A complaint was received regarding the mature subject matter of an episode of Coroner, which dramatises allegedly real case files of a city coroner. The episode in question, which was broadcast at 7:30 p.m., dealt with the death of a man who was involved in sado-masochistic practices. The Council found no problem with the content of the program (concluding that “the violent and sexual component of the episode was suggested rather than manifest or blatant”), the hour at which it was broadcast or the absence of viewer advisories.
Canada’s private broadcasters have themselves created industry standards in the form of Codes on ethics, gender portrayal and television violence by which they expect the members of their profession will abide. In 1990, they also created the CBSC, which is the self-regulatory body with the responsibility of administering those professional broadcast Codes, as well as the Code dealing with journalistic practices first created by the Radio Television News Directors Association of Canada (RTNDA) in 1970. More than 430 radio and television stations and specialty services from across Canada are members of the Council.
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All CBSC decisions, Codes, links to members’ and other web sites, and related information are available on the World Wide Web at www.cbsc.ca. For more information, please contact the National Chair of the CBSC, Ron Cohen, at (####) ####-####.