By Western Standard
December 9, 2021
-Western Standard
CBC pundit Max Fawcett breach the network’s own code of conduct after he libeled Blacklock’s Reporter as “shamelessly dishonest” in publishing a carbon tax story he did not even read.
“Yes, there was a violation of Journalistic Standards And Practices when CBC published the column initially,” CBC Ombudsman Jack Nagler said in a statement.
“That is because it contained an inaccuracy that misrepresented the actions of Blacklock’s Reporter.
“I do understand why you would expect anyone writing about a Blacklock’s article to have read that article.”
The CBC earlier published a correction.
Blacklock’s last January published a story headlined “Contradict Carbon Tax Claim.”
It correctly reported the federal treasury from 2019 to 2020 collected millions more in carbon taxes than it paid in rebates, an average 20% more. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had repeatedly claimed households receiving rebates “actually get more money” and “will be better off” under the carbon tax.
On January 5, the day the Blacklock’s article was published, the CBC’s Fawcett claimed it was false and unethical.
“This is either shamefully dishonest or shamelessly incompetent work,” Fawcett wrote on his Twitter account.
“This little episode is going in a future column of mine.”
Subsequently, on January 19 Fawcett published a CBC commentary libeling Blacklock’s as irresponsible and suggested the news story was representative of “lies and deceit.”
The commentary was headlined, “Ottawa Needs To Fight More Effectively For The Carbon Tax”; “Lies and deceit keep spreading,” read a sub-headline.
“Their latest attempt to confuse Canadians came in the form of a January 5 story in Blacklock’s Reporter, an Ottawa-based subscription news service, which suggested that ‘Canadians paid millions more in carbon tax than they received in rebates,’” wrote Fawcett.
Fawcett condemned “an environment where misinformation thrives and where one side has repeatedly shown its willingness to spread it about the carbon tax,” adding: “Equally dishonest was the implication the federal government had promised the rebates would be larger than the total tax paid by all Canadians. That was never the case.”
Fawcett never read the article.
A CBC Journalistic Standards And Practices guide states even pundits must adhere to rules of newsroom ethics.
Opinions must “not misrepresent other points of view,” it states. The CBC on January 20 published a notice correcting any suggestion “the attempt to confuse Canadians was initiated by the Blacklock’s story.”
