Radio-Canada's Journalistic Standards and Practices Guide clearly defines the roles and duties of journalists and what is expected of them in terms of objectivity, and so on. There are many parameters. That guide is like an internal bible, and any journalist starting to work for Radio-Canada is made aware of its existence and required to be familiar with our way of operating.
Because of the many tools available to it, among journalistic operations generally, Radio-Canada enjoys a strong reputation for objectivity. There is the Journalistic Standards and Practices Guide, as well as the News Branch, which ensures that the standards and practices are adhered to. As well, there is the ombudsman, which acts as kind of an appeal body. When an individual feels that he has been prejudicially affected, that we were not objective and did not express the whole spectrum of opinion, that person can appeal to the ombudsman. L'ombudsman is independent and reports directly to the Corporation's Board of Directors. He doesn't report to anyone else--not to me, or Louis, or Christiane.
When there are more important moments in the life of a democracy where the issues are pretty significant for everyone--an election, for example--we strike committees of citizens chosen from across the country, and they listen to our newscasts and express their opinions in that regard. They may tell us that we're slipping as regards this or that aspect of our news coverage. And outside firms can also give us their perspective.
We then make very precise calculations of the airtime given to each of the parties. That does not necessarily mean that every party has to have the same airtime, but that we have to be in a position to explain the difference. For example, we may spend less time talking about a particular party in a particular region simply because there are no candidates running there.
All of these tools allow us to state that, overall, journalistic objectivity is taken very seriously at Radio-Canada.
I have been working for Radio-Canada for 26 years, and there have been very serious attacks on its objectivity. Yet every time an impartial study has been conducted, it has confirmed Radio-Canada's objectivity.
What is objectivity? We could hold a three-day seminar on that topic alone.