‘A critical step towards a more equitable future is to ensure that journalists are free to hold uncomfortable conversations about racism, including in our own backyards’
The Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ) is calling on all Canadian newsrooms to guarantee that journalists can discuss and report on race and racism without reasonable fear of censure or repercussion.
“As journalists, our primary job is to hold uncomfortable but transparent conversations about complicated truths,” said Brent Jolly, CAJ president. “The CAJ will always strive to ensure that those who don't feel they can speak up have a voice in their newsrooms.”
The call came after a Jan. 12 arbitrator ruling that journalist Ahmar Khan was improperly fired by CBC Manitoba after sharing with outside journalists how CBC managers allegedly made him take down a tweet criticizing Don Cherry as “xenophobic” because it went against the broadcaster's journalistic standards and practices. Those practices stipulate that reporters cannot express opinions about topics that they could cover, according to the group.
“The arbitrator determined the termination was wrong because the information gathered to fire Khan came from a violation of his privacy, when a colleague went through months of his private messages on Twitter and Whatsapp after Khan remained signed in on a shared company laptop,” said the group.
CBC has also reaffirmed its previously announced plan that one of every two hires and promotions will come from underrepresented groups. CBC also established a confidential hotline that employees can use to report racism in the workplace, and announced a review of its journalistic standards and practices.
“The CAJ respects the CBC's stated commitments to become a more inclusive organization. At the same time, however, we cannot lose sight that, as an industry, there is still a very long way to go before we get to where we need to be,” said Jolly. “A critical step towards a more equitable future is to ensure that journalists are free to hold uncomfortable conversations about racism, including in our own backyards.”
Recommendations
To that end, CAJ shared the following recommendations:
- CAJ strongly encourages newsroom managers to complete the groups’ inaugural diversity survey so it can begin to track diversity in Canadian media organizations.
- CAJ recommends all newsrooms review their internal journalism policies on topics such as social media use and fairness to ensure they are not being disproportionately enforced against journalists of colour.
- CAJ encourages newsrooms to deal with staff concerns about racism the same way they would report out any other story. Seek out the truth and advocate for change if there is wrongdoing. Don't fire the staff for raising concerns. Create a safe and trusting space for such conversations.
“How we choose to confront the issues of racism and diversity in the media are some of the greatest tests of our time,” said Jolly. “We must always strive to do better.”
In October 2020, after witnessing incidents of bigotry and discrimination, the Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON) decided to launch a campaign aimed at bringing employers, unions and governments together to address racism in the construction industry.
Also, leadership and the human resources department have created an unhealthy and even “racist” workplace at the York Region Children’s Aid Society (YRCAS) in Ontario, according to a report in November 2020.
