Racism complaints lodged against radio stations

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Kahnawake councillor Billy Two Rivers is still waiting for a response from the CRTC regarding his complaint that two Quebec radio stations were in contravention of radio regulations when they broadcast racist and disparaging remarks about Indians over the airwaves.

The CRTC is investigating numerous complaints about program content from Chicoutimi radio station CJMT and CKRS of Jonquiere. The offending broadcasts were made as long ago as March 1993 and as recently as November that same year.

Two Rivers said Natives were often referred to as 'savages' on the air, and in the case of CJMT, listeners heard a regular contributor to the program suggesting a good way of solving Quebec's problems would be to arm a couple of white people and kill a couple of Indians.

"I think there are going to have to be a couple of rifles that come out. And after that - I know the Indians, I've studied them for 500 years - the very minute one falls, the others flee," said CJMT's Serge Cloutier in November.

Two Rivers said the stations have tried to make light of the remarks. He said someone even got a professor to say that 'savage' in Old French meant something that was free. But words change meaning over the years and the argument doesn't hold water, said Two Rivers. Today the word savage has a derogatory connotation, he said.

"It makes you angry when they just try to laugh it off and try to justify it with some word twisting."

Two Rivers isn't sure how the station intends to pass off the comments made by Cloutier.

"I have to ask 'Who is the savage?' In today's terms, who is the savage?"

Letters acknowledging the complaints were sent by the CRTC to the radio

stations on April 13, said Director of Public Affairs Bill Allen. The stations are required to respond to the allegations directly to the complainant, in writing, with a copy to the CRTC, within 10 days of receiving the letter.

Once the CRTC receives the station's response it will decide if further action needs to be taken. If the stations are found not to have satisfied the complaint and to have breached the Broadcast Act or radio Regulations, there are number of avenues the CRTC can take, said Allen. It could publicly reprimand the station, call the station before a public hearing, renew its license only on a short-term basis or with conditions and special guidelines attached, or in more severe cases, prosecute. Ultimately, the CRTC can refuse to renew a station's license.

Allen said the majority of the broadcast license holders are responsible and stay within the rules of broadcast. The public is quite sensitive to how people treat each other, he said. However, there are, from time to time, those licensees who go beyond what is responsible and fair.

The Commission treats these complaints very seriously, said Allen, but it always must balance protection of the public from on-air abuse with freedom of expression.

"If I was the CRTC they'd be the hell off the air two weeks ago," said Two Rivers. He said if the CRTC fails to follow through or intends to wash its hands of the complaint, he will be obliged to remind the CRTC of its responsibility.