CRTC erred in its decision on Radio-Canada N-word broadcast: court

A federal court has ruled that the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) erred in its decision penalizing Société Radio-Canada (SRC) for broadcasting the N-word.

A federal court has ruled that the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) erred in its decision penalizing Société Radio-Canada (SRC) for broadcasting the N-word.

In a unanimous decision released Thursday (June 8), the Federal Court of Appeal said that the broadcast regulator made several mistakes when it ruled against SRC in response to a complaint.

In particular, the court ruled, the CRTC cited sections of the Broadcasting Act which do not give it the authority to regulate speech on the airwaves. The court sent the decision back to the CRTC for reconsideration.

"The court has returned the matter to the CRTC. We will wait for their direction on next steps," a spokesperson for CBC/Radio-Canada said in a media statement.

"It is important to remember that this does not affect the policies we have already put in place to minimize the use of hurtful or offensive language."