Official languages commissioner cleared to investigate CBC: Court

Official Languages Commissioner Graham Fraser has the authority to investigate programming complaints against CBC/Radio-Canada, the Federal Court said in a decision May 29. "This decision puts an end to a dispute between my office and CBC/Radio-Canada that has gone on for far too long. The Federal Court has acknowledged my authority to investigate complaints about CBC/Radio-Canada, including those regarding its national and regional programming. I expect that CBC/Radio-Canada will co-operate fully in investigations from this point forward," Fraser said in a statement Monday. The Federal Court suit was filed against CBC in August 2010 after an investigation by the Office of the Commissioner of Official Languages into the CBC’s 2009 budget cuts affected French-language broadcasts from CBC radio station CBEF in Windsor, Ont. The investigation found that CBC failed to fulfil its obligations under Part VII of the Official Languages Act "by not consulting the Francophone community in southwestern Ontario or considering the repercussions that the radio station's closure would have on the community," a release said. Fraser said he is pleased that the court decision means the CRTC will consider the impacts of its 2009 budget cuts on regional francophone communities in its upcoming CBC licence renewal hearing, scheduled to start Nov. 19. Fraser’s office asked the court to confirm its ability to investigate official language complaints against the CBC in 2010 after it received 876 complaints when CBEF cancelled its French-language broadcasts. --- CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story and headline incorrectly said the Federal Court of Canada ruled that CBC/Radio-Canada failed to fulfill obligations undert the Official Languages Act. That was a finding of the Official Languages Commissioner.

Official languages commissioner cleared to investigate CBC: Court

Brief | June 11, 2012

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