Ottawa, June 11, 1993 — The Ontario Regional Council of the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) has decided that a W5 program aired on the CTV Network did not contravene a clause in an industry Code of Ethics. The program dealt with the issue of teens abusing the welfare system.
A viewer representing a shelter for abused women, filed a complaint about the program, as she felt it suggested that her shelter helped young women who abuse the welfare system. CTV, however, responded that the program was not intended to harm the shelter, but to address the issue of the abuse of social assistance. Referring to the Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ (CAB) Code of Ethics, which states that broadcasters must treat fairly all subjects of a controversial nature, the regional council unanimously decided that CTV’s treatment of the issue and of the shelter was fair and balanced. Therefore, the council agreed that CTV did not breach the code.
The Ontario Regional Council is composed equally of public representatives and broadcasters. The Regional Council Chair, Marianne Barrie, represents the public. The Vice-Chair is Al MacKay, a broadcaster. The other broadcasters on the regional council are Don Luzzi and Paul Fockler, while the other public representatives are Susan Fish and Robert Stanbury. All members were present for the decision.
Established by the CAB as a mechanism of self-regulation for private sector broadcasters, the CBSC received the formal endorsement of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in 1991. The CBSC administers the CAB’s Code of Ethics, the Voluntary Code Regarding Violence on Television, and the Sex-Role Portrayal Code.
The decision is attached.
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For more information, please contact the CBSC National Chair, Mimi Fullerton, at (###) ###-####.