Ottawa, September 30, 1997 -- The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) announces the appointment of John Backhouse to its B.C. Regional Council.
Mr. Backhouse, a Professional Librarian, is the Director of Institutional Development for the College of New Caledonia in Prince George. He represents the public on the B.C. Regional Council. From 1986 to 1996 he served as the Mayor of the City of Prince George, prior to which he was an Alderman for six years. Mr. Backhouse is also a Director of the Board of B.C. Transit, a member of the Forest Sector Strategy Committee, a member of the Minister’s Advisory Council on Housing and a Director of the Fraser Basin Council. He is a Freeman of the City of Prince George, a Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow and was recently entered onto the Roll of Honour of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
CBSC National Chair Ron Cohen stated: “In the past three weeks, the Council has received an outpouring of complaints, primarily from Quebec and Ontario, but also from across Canada, about the Howard Stern Show, which has recently begun to be broadcast in the Montreal and Toronto markets. The thoughtful, dedicated and unbiased role played by the CBSC’s volunteer members from industry and the public alike is the backbone of our decision making process. We are fortunate to be able to attract individuals with the community stature of John Backhouse to join in our deliberations.”
The B.C. Council, like all CBSC Regional Councils, is made up of three public and three broadcast representatives. The Chair of the B.C. Council is Erin Petrie, Vice President of Programming for Okanagan Radio Limited who, along with Hudson Mack of CHEK-TV and Debbie Millette of U-TV (CKVU), represent the broadcasting industry. Sally Warren, Regional Vice-Chair, and Lynn Smith, Q.C., are public members.
Created in 1990 to administer industry self-regulatory codes on ethics, gender portrayal and violence, the CBSC’s membership includes approximately 400 private sector television and radio stations from across Canada. The CBSC received formal endorsement from the CRTC in 1991. To date over 80 decisions have been released by the CBSC, most of which are available, in addition to our codes and other relevant information, on the net at www.cbsc.ca.
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