Calls are mounting for the federal government to impose external oversight on CBC News, following renewed accusations that the public broadcaster has failed to uphold editorial standards in its coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
B’nai Brith Canada, in a petition submitted to the Prime Minister, urged the government to create an independent body empowered to investigate, audit, and enforce editorial standards at the CBC.
Blacklock's Reporter says the organization claimed that CBC News promoted falsehoods and normalized anti-Semitic narratives after the October 7 Hamas attacks in Israel.
“In the wake of the October 7 terrorist attacks, Canadian public broadcasters engaged in editorial conduct that misrepresented facts, laundered disinformation from Hamas-controlled sources and contributed to the normalization of antisemitic narratives,” the petition stated.
The group argued that these issues were not accidental but the result of deeper structural biases, and called for legislative changes. They proposed penalties including public reporting requirements and the potential suspension of public funding for non-compliance.
The CBC remains the only broadcaster in the country permitted to handle complaints internally, through an ombudsman employed by the network.
All other Canadian broadcasters must answer to the Canada Broadcast Standards Council, an external industry panel that can mandate public retractions and enforces the Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ Code of Ethics.
This marks the second demand for reform in less than two months. On March 23, Sen. Andrew Cordozo recommended that CBC be held to the same standards as private broadcasters.
“If the CBC is not biased it must provide the data to prove it,” Cordozo wrote. “Honesty and transparency are key to rebuilding trust.”
CBC’s handling of the Gaza conflict sparked 4,785 audience complaints in 2023 — up 45% from the previous year.
Then-ombudsman Jack Nagler acknowledged the broadcaster’s coverage left “room for improvement.” Internal CBC directives had instructed staff not to call Hamas a terrorist group, despite Parliament’s 2002 decision to list it as such.
The network also misreported that Israel was responsible for bombing Gaza’s Al-Ahli Hospital, a claim later debunked when it was revealed the explosion came from Palestinian rocket fire.
In its April 7 audit of antisemitic incidents, B’nai Brith stated that CBC “actively spread terrorist propaganda” and said media outlets across Canada had contributed to disinformation and the justification of violence against Jews.
