Information & Ethics Committee on Oct. 10th, 2024

[René Villemure, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Is CTV concerned about being subject to that kind of risk? I am still referring to disinformation and foreign influence.

[Richard Gray]

I am always concerned about the accuracy and the veracity of the journalism we do, based on the source material that's provided to us. It's why we use multiple stories, all independently verified by CTV.

[René Villemure, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

If I may summarize your thinking, disinformation is caused primarily by social media, and you are a victim. Is that correct?

[Richard Gray]

I would say that this is the prevailing factor, at least from my perspective, in this country.

[René Villemure, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

A little earlier, you referred to a code of ethics for journalists. That is my area of expertise, and I would say that a code of ethics more often protects the person who wrote it than the person it applies to.

So beyond signing a code of ethics, how does CTV ensure that it is not broadcasting disinformation or misinformation? Remind us again of the steps you take, please.

[Richard Gray]

Again, what happens is that as stories are assigned at the beginning of the day and as work proceeds on them throughout the day, the individual reporters who are involved in the pursuit of those stories are checking in constantly with members of our management team and reviewing what they're gathering and the focus of their stories.

Once they complete a near-final draft, I'll call it, of their story, the script is submitted to a producer for review. That review ensures that the story is factually correct and there are no legal issues with it. From that point, the reporter then works with an editor to complete that story for presentation on the television news.

[René Villemure, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Right.

A little earlier, you explained how the mistake my colleague referred to happened. I would like you to tell us why that mistake happened. Was there malicious intent to spread disinformation?

You did act quickly to dismiss the two employees, despite their status as union members. On the one hand, that is to your credit, but it also kind of prevents us from knowing what happened.

[Richard Gray]

There was no malicious intent, from my perspective. This was two people who were acting independently to make a particular story work on a given day.

[René Villemure, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

There was an intent to spread disinformation.

[Richard Gray]

There was no intent to disinform.

[René Villemure, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

But the outcome was the same.

[Richard Gray]

There was no intent, but yes, the outcome was the same. That's why we took the measures and steps we did and why these two individuals are no longer part of the CTV News team or Bell Media.

[René Villemure, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

So the action you took was based on the consequence, not the intent.

[Richard Gray]

As I said, there was no intent.

[René Villemure, Bloc, Trois-Rivières, QC]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Conservative, John Brassard]

Thank you, Mr. Villemure.

We'll go to Mr. Green now for six minutes.

Go ahead, Mr. Green.

[Matthew Green, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Welcome to the committee, Mr. Gray. I take earnestly your opening statement. When situations like this occur, the question is, “What did you know, when did you know and what did you do about it?” It sounds like you took pretty swift action.

I want to pick up on my colleague and friend Mr. Villemure's questions around the process. A statement posted on social media on September 26 mentions that CTV News editorial standards were not followed in this case. Which CTV News editorial standards were not followed in this case, resulting in these two employees being dismissed?

[Richard Gray]

There were a number of specific policy violations. There were three policy violations under CTV News policy—our policy on misrepresentation, our policy on the utilization of source material, and our policy on the use of sound, specifically interview clips.

The RTDNA code of ethics was violated in two instances. Those were article 1 as it relates to accuracy and article 3 as it relates to authenticity. With respect to the Canadian Association of Broadcasters' code of ethics, two clauses were violated. Those were clause 5, relating to news, and clause 6, relating to full, fair and proper presentation.

[Matthew Green, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

It sounds as if there was a breakdown in a bunch of different ways.

Are these standards similar to those at other news channels you might know of? Is this an industry standard you're referring to?

[Richard Gray]

Yes. The RTDNA and Canadian Association of Broadcasters codes of ethics are industry standards.

I would imagine, though I don't know for certain, that each media organization in this country has its own policy.

[Matthew Green, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

What steps do CTV News journalists and newsroom managers typically take to ensure that aired reports meet the current journalistic and ethical standards?

[Richard Gray]

It's through that vetting process I described earlier.

[Matthew Green, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

Typically, how many people would be involved in that process?

[Richard Gray]

It depends on the nature of the story. Minimally, one senior manager reviews a particular story. It could be as many as two or three, depending upon the nature of the story. We might also have a lawyer review the story, depending upon the particulars of it.

[Matthew Green, NDP, Hamilton Centre, ON]

I want to get a sense of the workplace culture there.

Back in February, Bell Canada laid off 6% of its workforce. This immediately impacted CTV News. You're on the record in a reported story that says, “'multi-skilled journalists' would replace news correspondent and technician teams reporting to CTV National News”.

Would these two people be considered “multi-skilled journalists”?