Questions Concerning the Complaints Process

Index

Q. How do I make a complaint?

All complaints must be made in writing. They can be sent via postal mail, fax or electronic mail. Addresses for each method of communication as well as further information on what should be included in your complaint can be found at Making a Complaint. For your convenience, the CBSC provides an easy-to-fill-out complaint form on its website.

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Q. What information must be included in a complaint?

Both the CBSC and the broadcaster need to know what concerns you in order to be able to respond. It is, therefore, most important to include information that will identify the broadcaster (such as its name or call letters), the name of the program, if possible, and the date and time at which the offending material ran. You should also tell us what bothered you about what you saw or heard. Please note that it is essential that you must have personally seen or heard the offending material. Reporting what someone has told you was broadcast will not trigger the CBSC’s process.

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Q: Why is it necessary to put my complaint in writing?

The CBSC’s complaints resolution process is admittedly more burdensome on complainants than a simple phone call; however, a written complaint suggests thoughtfulness and a genuine concern on the part of the complainant, rather than a passing, impulsive, knee-jerk reaction. It also leaves no doubt as to the substance of the complaint. It is also essential for the CBSC to be able to forward the complaint to the station and permits the CBSC to require that broadcasters send a written response to the complainant. They must equally respond to complainants in writing. This is the basis for a more productive dialogue between the broadcaster and its audience, a point of considerable importance to the CBSC’s complaint process. Moreover, the written complaint creates a record which will enable the CBSC to assess the merits of the substantive complaint as well as the broadcaster’s responsiveness. See the related FAQ Why is the broadcaster being asked to respond to me? Why can’t the CBSC just decide the matter?

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Q. What happens after I make a complaint?

The CBSC will acknowledge receipt of your complaint and forward a copy to the broadcaster in question, asking that it respond to your concerns. If you have provided sufficient information about the programming that offended you (the time and date of the broadcast and the name or call letters of the station), you will be provided with a Ruling Request form which you can return to the CBSC if you are unsatisfied with the broadcaster’s response. Please note that it is only upon receipt of a Ruling Request form that the CBSC will begin its substantive review of any given matter. For further information on what happens after the filing of a Ruling Request, see the FAQs under the heading “CBSC Decisions”.

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Q. Why is the broadcaster being asked to respond to me? Why can’t the CBSC just decide the matter?

The dialogue between the broadcaster and its audience members is a cornerstone of the CBSC’s complaints resolution process. The broadcaster benefits from the exchange by learning about the concerns and the level of tolerance of its audience and has the opportunity, if appropriate, to institute changes to its programming decisions. The complainant receives a personal response from the broadcaster explaining the reasons underlying the station's broadcasting choices, which may satisfy his or her concerns. Since that dialogue frequently satisfies the complainant, it is a method of resolution of the complaint without the need for adjudication of the matter. For the CBSC, this “dialogue” process enables the "building of the record", i.e. the presentation of arguments for and against the broadcast in question, which is important if the matter will be sent to the next stage of the process. The arguments on both sides are often invaluable to the Panel Adjudicators when they are called upon to review the actual broadcast for its compatibility with the Codes.

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Q. What is a Ruling Request and why do I need to file one if I’m not satisfied with the broadcaster’s response?

A Ruling Request is a form which indicates to the CBSC, first, that you have considered the response given to you by the broadcaster about whose program you have complained and, second, that you are not satisfied with that response. It means that you would like the CBSC to rule on the matter. Unless the CBSC receives a Ruling Request, it will not bring a complaint to the adjudication stage.

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Q. Can I complain about an upcoming broadcast?

No. The CBSC does not have any pre-clearance process. In fact, there is no such process for vetting programming in the Canadian broadcasting system. Moreover, generally, there is no way to be certain what will happen in the case of live broadcasting and, in the case of pre-packaged dramatic programming, for example, any broadcast may be edited by the station or accompanied by viewer advisories and classification icons, which can have an effect on the appropriateness of what is actually broadcast. Consequently, the CBSC can only deal with complaints about programming that has already been aired.

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Q. Can I get tapes of the programming that concerned me?

Not from the CBSC (although there are commercial enterprises that provide tapes or transcripts of recent programming on a fee basis). Because tapes of programming are the property of the broadcaster, which furnishes them to the CBSC solely as a part of the complaints resolution process, the CBSC does not consider itself at liberty to provide copies of tapes to complainants or other members of the general public. While broadcasters are required to provide copies of programming to the CBSC (or the CRTC) pursuant to filing of a complaint, they are under no obligation to provide copies of tapes to complainants themselves. Some broadcasters will provide tapes to the public upon request as a courtesy or for a fee but the most certain method of securing a tape or transcript is, as noted above, to order one from a commercial house which is the business of supplying such material. Note, though, that they generally do not retain such records for more than 30 days following the broadcast.

In the interest of accuracy and completeness, the CBSC usually provides either a thorough description or, where relevant, a written transcript of the challenged programming in its decision or in an appendix thereto.

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Q. Can I submit a complaint anonymously?

No. The CBSC approaches this subject in a way which is similar to the letters to the editor page in a newspaper. Just as the newspaper editor will not publish an anonymous letter on that page, the Council wants a complainant to stand behind the complaint that he or she makes. For the CBSC to pursue a complaint you may wish to make, it must receive your full name and civic address or e-mail address. If the CBSC receives an anonymous complaint, it will request that information from the complainant before proceeding further.

The CBSC considers the dialogue process between the complainant and the broadcaster to be a key part of the complaints resolution procedure. The Secretariat considers that, if the complainant is reluctant to provide an accurate name and address, it is not reasonable for the Council to request that the broadcaster seriously devote its time to a thoughtful reply to the complainant. By definition, “Dialogue” involves two people.

If, on the other hand, you have specific concerns about revealing your name to a broadcaster, please explain these in your complaint. The CBSC Secretariat will examine your request for anonymity and may allow it in exceptional circumstances. If it does not agree with your reasons, you will be free to withdraw your complaint.

In any event, broadcasters are NOT allowed to announce your name on air. The CBSC would consider such an action to be an extremely serious breach of broadcasting standards.

Moreover, the complainant’s name and other identifying information DO NOT appear in the CBSC’s decision or appendix to the decision. It is also CBSC policy NOT to release that information to journalists who may be reporting on the decision. The one exception to that principle is made by the CBSC when the complainant is an organization whose relationship to the file is materially significant and the Secretariat has reason to believe it is in the interests of the organization to be publicly associated with the complaint. Individual complainants are themselves free to contact the press at the time a decision is released, in the event that they wish their interest in the file to be made public.

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