During the week of May 14, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation ignored the March for Life in Ottawa, despite the fact that some 3,500 Canadians participated in that witness on behalf of the unborn. This is in contrast to other, smaller protests that received coverage from the national broadcaster in recent months, including: 300 fishermen in Badger’s Quay, Nfld., who got two minutes of coverage; 150-200 opponents of gun registration on Parliament Hill, who received two minutes, 16 seconds of airtime; 50 Indian demonstrators near Oka, Que., who had a minute-and-a-half; and 24 anti-development protestors in Banff, who were featured for one minute, 58 seconds. Couldn’t the CBC fit the March for Life – one of the largest demonstrations on Parliament Hill, rivalled only by the anti-Iraq protests (which received frequent coverage) – into at least one of its news broadcasts?
CBC “Production Standards” on the “Coverage of Demonstrations” say that, “The decision to broadcast a report must be based on the importance of the event, protest or demonstration, rather than on the sounds and images it provides.” Apparently, the CBC shares the opinion of its paymaster, the prime minister, in believing that Canada has social peace on the issue of abortion, and that a demonstration calling for an end to the injustice of abortion is not important.
