ARCHIVED - Broadcasting Circular CRTC 2006-4

"the programming provided by the Canadian broadcasting system should:

i) be varied and comprehensive, providing a balance of information, enlightenment and entertainment for men, women and children of all ages, interests and tastes,

iv) provide a reasonable opportunity for the public to be exposed to the expression of differing views on matters of public concern, ..."

b) Temporary network

The operations of a temporary network are subject to the Act and a request for such operations must be submitted to the Commission for prior approval. See Section 2 of the Act.

During an election period, a licensee shall allocate time for the broadcasting of programs, advertisements or announcements of a partisan political character on an equitable basis to all accredited political parties and rival candidates represented in the election or referendum.

(a) in the case of a federal or provincial election, or of a federal, provincial or municipal referendum, the period beginning on the date of the announcement of the election or referendum and ending on the date the election or referendum is held.

In addition to the maximum of 12 minutes of advertising material set out in subsection (1), a licensee may broadcast partisan political advertising during an election period.

Where a licensee provides time on its service during an election period for the distribution of programs, advertisements or announcements of a partisan political character, the licensee shall allocate the time on an equitable basis to all accredited political parties and rival candidates represented in the election or referendum.

"Election period" has the same definition as that set out in the Radio Regulations, 1986 and the Television Broadcasting Regulations, 1987 above.

If a licensee provides time on the community channel during an election period for the distribution of programming of a partisan political character, the licensee shall allocate that time on an equitable basis to all accredited political parties and rival candidates.

"Election period" has the same definition as that set out in the Radio Regulations, 1986 and Television Broadcasting Regulations, 1987 above.

Throughout the history of broadcasting in Canada, licensees, as part of their service to the public, have been required to cover elections. Moreover, where licensees have allocated paid or free campaign time, they have been required to do so in a manner that is equitable to all political parties and rival candidates.

The purpose of these requirements is to ensure the public's right to be informed of the issues involved so that it has sufficient knowledge to make an informed choice from among the various parties and candidates. This right is a quintessential one for the effective functioning of a democracy, particularly at election time. The broadcaster's obligation as a trustee of the public airwaves is seldom greater than it is in respect to this exercise of the most fundamental democratic freedom.

As the Commission noted in Political Broadcasting - Complaints re: free time and editorial time allocations, Circular No. 334:

It is the broadcaster's duty to ensure that the public has adequate knowledge of the issues surrounding an election and the position of the parties and candidates. The broadcaster does not enjoy the position of a benevolent censor who is able to give the public only what it "should" know. Nor is it the broadcaster's role to decide in advance which candidates are "worthy" of broadcast time.

From this right on the part of the public to have adequate knowledge to fulfill its obligations as an informed electorate, flows the obligation on the part of the broadcaster to provide equitable -- fair and just -- treatment of issues, candidates and parties. It should be noted that "equitable" does not necessarily mean "equal", but, generally, all candidates and parties are entitled to some coverage that will give them the opportunity to expose their ideas to the public.

The question of equitable treatment applies to parties and to candidates; to programs, advertisements and announcements; to federal, provincial and municipal elections, as well as to referenda. Equity also applies to the duration of broadcasts, to scheduling, to potential audience, to the choice of which electoral districts and offices to cover, to language of broadcast, to issue coverage and approach, to conditions under which an appearance may be made, and -- in the case of paid-time programming -- to price.

The Commission acknowledges that each licensee's situation is unique. The Commission has no firm rules to cover all aspects of election campaign broadcasting; to some extent it will have to deal with situations on a case-by-case basis.

Political campaign broadcasts generally fall into four categories:

i) Paid-time - Time bought and paid for by or on behalf of parties or candidates or advocacy groups, and largely under the editorial control of the advertiser.

ii) Free time - Time given free of charge by the licensee to the party or candidate, and largely under the editorial control of the party or candidate.

iii) News - Coverage of the campaign by the licensee's news department, and under the editorial control of the licensee.

iv) Public Affairs - In-depth examinations of candidates and issues, profiles of candidates, debates, and under the editorial control of the licensee.

There may be some "blurring" of the latter two categories given that, for example, they may be part of the station's "news package" and may involve the same station personnel.

If one party or candidate receives free time, all rival parties and candidates must be offered equitable time.

Similarly, if paid advertising time is sold to any party or candidate, advertising time must be made available on an equitable basis to rival parties and candidates.

In the case of conflicts between requirements for equity with respect to paid advertising time and sold-out commercial schedules, it is the Commission's view that such conflicts should be resolved in favour of the electoral process and in accordance with the principle of equity:

Equity in News Coverage

The Commission agrees with the arguments put forward that news coverage should generally be left to the editorial judgement of the broadcast licensee.

However, Section 3 of the Act requires that "the programming originated by broadcast undertakings should be of high standard" and "the programming provided by the Canadian broadcasting system should provide a reasonable opportunity for the public to be exposed to the expression of differing views on matters of public concern". Licensees have an obligation under this section to ensure that their audiences are informed of the main issues and of the positions of all candidates and registered parties on those issues.

Equity in Public Affairs Programming

Section 3 of the Act must also be applied when presenting public affairs programs, such as party or candidate profiles, features on certain issues or panel discussions.

Equity requirements will apply within each of the categories of paid-time, free time, news and public affairs programs.

Licensees who program in more than one language should take into consideration that a political broadcast in one language cannot be construed as balancing a political broadcast in another language.

The equitable time requirement is triggered at the later of (a) the date a candidate is nominated or (b) the date on which an election is called.

Not all candidates are nominated at the same time; some, for strategic or other reasons, may not be nominated until well into a campaign. In the Commission's view, there is no obligation on the part of licensees to compensate late entrants for time previously afforded other candidates following the election's call. Late-entry candidates should receive equitable coverage from the time they enter the campaign.

For some licensees the provision of equitable coverage to all the candidates running for office in all of the electoral districts reached by the station could amount to an unwieldy proposition.

In the Commission's view, the decision should be made by the licensee, in consideration of three principal factors: the station's service area (i.e., the area it is licensed or committed to serve), its signal coverage area, and the practical aspect based on the number of electoral districts and candidates.

The Commission remains persuaded that on-air personalities, whether they are employed on radio or television or community programming channels of cable systems, even if their exposure is solely in the role of commercial announcer, have an unfair advantage over their opponents.

Accordingly, the licensee has the responsibility to ensure that such candidates be removed from their on-air duties during the election campaign period as defined in the regulations (the Radio Regulations, 1986, the Television Broadcasting Regulations, 1987, the Broadcasting Distribution Regulations and the Specialty Services Regulations, 1990) or on the date their candidacies are announced, whichever is later. Offering similar on-air opportunity to an on-air candidate's opponents is no longer an option.

In Election-period broadcasting: Debates, Public Notice CRTC 1995-44, 15 March 1995, the Commission announced that it will no longer require that so-called "debates" programs feature all rival parties or candidates in one or more programs. The licensee will have satisfied the balance requirement of the Act if reasonable steps are taken to ensure that their audiences are informed on the main issues and of the positions of all candidates and registered parties on those issues through their public affairs programs generally.