CBC is defending its practice of keeping some newsroom directives internal after a Liberal-appointed senator demanded their public disclosure following the broadcaster’s controversial 9/11 terrorism guidance.
In a statement to Juno News, CBC spokesperson Chuck Thompson defended the broadcaster’s transparency practices while acknowledging that some instructions are intended only for staff.
“As the national public broadcaster, CBC is the most transparent and accountable media organization in Canada,” Thompson said.
“Like all corporations, public or otherwise, some of our directives and guidance are intended for internal staff.”
Thompson pointed to CBC’s publicly available journalistic standards, code of conduct, artificial intelligence guidelines, editor-in-chief’s blog and independent ombudsman as evidence of its accountability.
However, CBC did not commit to publishing all internal editorial directives or indicate whether it would support legislation requiring their disclosure.
The response follows a Blacklock’s Reporter report detailing Alberta Senator Daryl Fridhandler’s demand for greater transparency after CBC instructed journalists not to describe the September 11 attacks as terrorism.
Fridhandler, appointed by former Liberal PM Justin Trudeau in 2024, questioned why Canadians should be kept in the dark about editorial instructions issued by a broadcaster receiving more than $1 billion annually in public funding.
“Given that the CBC receives more than a billion dollars annually in public funding, does the government believe Canadians have a right to know all editorial and language directives being provided to journalists at the public broadcaster?” Fridhandler asked Tuesday during Senate Question Period.
Government Leader in the Senate Pierre Moreau rejected political involvement in CBC’s editorial decisions.
“It would be inappropriate for parliamentarians or the government to get involved in editorial lines of the news agency,” Moreau replied.
“The CBC holds high standards of journalistic integrity.”
Fridhandler disagreed, comparing disclosure of CBC’s editorial directives to mandatory food labelling.
“I see this as just as essential as labelling requirements on the food we consume,” he said.
“Essentially, how are we to know what’s in the news we consume?”
CBC’s journalistic independence is protected under the federal Broadcasting Act, although Fridhandler’s proposal concerns disclosure rather than political control of its journalism.
CBC is also subject to the Access to Information Act, but Section 68.1 excludes information relating to its journalistic, creative and programming activities, except general administration.
The controversy erupted after the Toronto Sun published a leaked memo from CBC’s senior director of journalistic standards and public trust, Basem Boshra.
“Do not refer to the September 11 attacks as terrorist attacks,” the directive instructed.
Instead, journalists were told to describe the hijackings and passenger jet crashes without independently characterizing the attacks as terrorism.
The memo sparked backlash ahead of the 25th anniversary of 9/11, when nearly 3,000 people were killed, including 24 Canadians.
Following the outcry, CBC reversed its directive, announcing that journalists would no longer be required to attribute the term terrorism when describing the attacks.
“After reviewing our current language guidance, we have decided to adjust it to clarify that direct attribution is not required for describing the historic events of 9/11 as terrorism,” Boshra wrote.
CBC acknowledged its guidance had caused “significant concern, anger and hurt,” but maintained it had never denied the attacks constituted terrorism.
The controversy echoed CBC’s 2023 reporting guidelines following Hamas’ October 7 terrorist attacks against Israel, when journalists were similarly instructed not to independently describe Hamas attackers as terrorists.
CBC’s ombudsman subsequently reported a surge in complaints, with coverage of the Israel-Hamas war emerging as a major source of criticism.