CBC’s late consideration of “balance” displays the intolerance of our public broadcaster.
February 13, 2004 – Viewers of CBC News Sunday will be forgiven if they perceive that they may be the unwitting “wedding” guests of a same sex couple this weekend.
While many Canadians will be at their local church, CBC viewers will look at the following television lineup: Mr. Dressup, Zoboomafoo, It’s Rolie Polie Olie, Little Bear, Franklin, four episodes of Coronation Street, and a so-called “same-sex wedding”, all before noon.
On October 6, 2003, CBC Sunday advertised on a “same-sex marriage” website its intention to stage a “same-sex wedding” during the Sunday morning timeslot. The ceremony would be telecast as part of CBC News Sunday, purportedly as news or current events.
While mainstream Christians in Canada are celebrating and reflecting on the importance of maintaining heterosexual marriage, declaring this week “Marriage on the Rock: appreciation of traditional marriage,” the CBC has chosen to broadcast an event that, according to recent polls, remains deeply troubling to most Canadians.
CBC executives appear to be prepared to display their partisanship for same sex marriage. Your public broadcaster has gone from reporting the news to manufacturing it, from reporting public discussion to manipulating it.
What’s more insulting is the cavalier effort on the part of producers of Sunday’s program to seek some alleged balance to the proceedings.
Following the ceremony, and the related festivities, a panel of opponents to same sex marriage was to be given an opportunity to comment. This is the CBC’s idea of balance: manufacture a news event for over six months, and then seek in the last six days an opposing point of view. Not surprisingly, all of the groups which have been working to defend marriage in court cases across Canada chose to stay away from the staged event. The Ontario bishops, the Catholic Civil Rights League, the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, and the numerous others organizations involved in maintaining the traditional definition of marriage were not prepared to be part of a staged exercise in manipulation of opinion.
From its warped perspective, religious folks should merely bow down to CBC requests for comment and participation, to give this production the illusion of “balance”. It did not occur to the CBC that we take our convictions seriously, and that participating in this media stunt to promote the normalization of homosexual “marriage” is morally objectionable to mainstream religious groups.
-30-
tel: 416-466-8244, fax 416-466-0091, email: ccrl@idirect.com
Catholic Civil Rights League assists in creating conditions within which Catholic teachings can be better understood, cooperates with other organizations in defending civil rights in Canada, and opposes defamation and discrimination against Catholics on the basis of their beliefs. The Catholic Civil Rights League is a Canadian non-profit organization entirely supported by the generosity of its members.