The Federal Court of Appeal overturned a Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) ruling penalizing Radio-Canada for a French broadcast where a title of a book containing the “N-word” was read out loud.
Last year, the CRTC forced Radio Canada to issue an apology and implement new practices over an Aug. 17, 2020 broadcast of the radio show Le 15-18.
The radio show in question was discussing a petition launched by woke Concordia University students triggered by a white professor reading aloud the title of a book by Front de liberation du Quebec (FLQ) leader Pierre Vallières. The book is titled Nègres blancs d’Amérique (White N*****s of America).
The title of the book was mentioned four times in the broadcast discussing the petition – three times in French and once in English. The latter led to a black progressive filing a complaint with the CRTC and Radio-Canada’s ombudsman.
In its 2022 ruling stemming from that complaint, the CRTC noted that “the use and repetition of the ‘N-word’ on this program was inconsistent with these objectives of the [Broadcasting] Act” and that SRC “did not implement all the necessary measures to mitigate the impact of the ‘N-word’ on its audience.”
The CRTC cited Section 3(1) of the Broadcasting Act in its decision, which says programming “should be of high standard” and should “serve to safeguard, enrich and strengthen the cultural, political, social and economic fabric of Canada,” and that CBC/Radio-Canada programming “should reflect the multicultural and multiracial nature of Canada.”
However, the Federal Court of Appeal found that section 3(1) was misinterpreted by the CRTC.
“Subsection 3(1) does not give the CRTC this power. The Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized that subsection 3(1) is not a jurisdiction-conferring provision. Instead, its purpose is to describe the broadcasting policy that Parliament was pursuing in adopting the Act,” wrote Court of Appeal Chief Justice Justice Noel in the decision.
“The CRTC overstepped its jurisdiction by sanctioning the SRC (Société Radio-Canada) on the sole basis that the content broadcast on the air was, in its opinion, inconsistent with the Canadian broadcasting policy.”
The court also took aim at the CRTC for not considering the Charter right to freedom of expression. It has asked the CRTC to reevaluate the complaint.
“Given that Parliament has mandated the CRTC to act as the initial decision-maker with respect to what can and cannot be said on the air, I would return the matter to the CRTC so that it may re-determine the merits of the complaint,” said Justice Noel.
In a statement, a CBC/Radio-Canada spokesperson said, “The court has returned the matter to the CRTC. We will wait for their direction on next steps.”
“It is important to remember that this does not affect the policies we have already put in place to minimize the use of hurtful or offensive language.”
The Court of Appeal’s unanimous decision is being well received among Quebec media figures.
Reacting to the ruling, Le Journal de Montreal columnist Sophie Durochers wrote she was “delighted that the Federal Court of Appeal overturned the CRTC’s decision to uphold a complaint against Radio-Canada for using the ‘N-word’ on radio.”
“It is not the CRTC’s role to say what can and cannot be said.”
