Ontario Press Council Says Manitouwadge Echo “Letter to the Editor’ Crossed the Line

Written by admin on 08 December 2011

MANITOUWADGE, ON – Summer 2011 Manitouwadge’s weekly printed paper, The Echo, published a Letter to the Editor that was no more than a 1/2 page hate rant full of racist comments and complaints regarding ex-Economic Development Officer Dave Raymond’s lack of racism in regards to efforts to attract new businesses and residents to the community. Raymond had worked with a popular Southern Ontario television show “Breakfast Buzz” on a feature about the community filmed by the TV program and was attacked in the local weekly paper through a Letter to the Editor by a resident who expressed not believing the community would be in support of the show promoting the community to Canadians of Asian or East Asian descent (the author specifically targeting certain races in his comments). (See one of the Feature Videos published by Breakfast Buzz Television to promote Manitouwadge below.)

OntarioNewsNorth.com spoke with many residents during this time, all of these voicing quite the opposite. Residents seemed very much in support of Mr. Raymond’s efforts, many expressing pride in the multiculturalism of their community and an eagerness to expand on this if possible. OntarioNewsNorth.com Editor Karina Hunter was especially disappointed to see what she described as the “Embarrassing racist rant” published by the weekly paper after she had spent months approximately one year prior, denying the letter’s author publication in OntarioNewsNorth.com, the daily local paper she publishes, due to the poor taste and racist themes of his Letters to the Editor.

Many Manitouwadge residents have since chosen to boycott the Manitouwadge Echo, no longer buying it or directing their advertising dollars elsewhere, expressing concerns that support of the paper could be seen as acceptance or agreement with the disgusting racist comments which were published. The Ontario Press Council has chosen to speak out against such types of publications reminding Editors who are members, including Mr. Schermann (The Echo Editor), in their decision regarding complaints about the Manitouwadge Echo’s publication of this Letter to the Editor, that they are, of course, RESPONSIBLE for what they publish.

“Trying to hide behind a claim that racist rants would qualify as “Freedom of speech” while blatantly ignoring Canadian’s freedom to live WITHOUT discrimination is not, in my opinion, the route a responsible Editor chooses to take ” said OntarioNewsNorth.com Editor Karina Hunter, adding that “I am proud of the fact these letters were never published on our pages despite threats, harrassing emails and more from the author when he was denied publication”. Hunter explained that she had gone so far as to contact police at one point, so concerned was she with the content of emails being sent to her by the Letter to the Editor author.

Below is the Ontario Press Council response to what was published by the Manitouwadge Echo.

Complaint against Manitouwage Echo regarding letter to the editor Decision by the Ontario Press Council

A letter to the Manitouwage Echo opposing efforts to attract racially diverse people to the area was deemed offensive and should not have been published, the Ontario Press Council has determined.

The letter, which objected to efforts by the township to attract people from the Greater Toronto Area to settle in the Northern Ontario community, was considered inappropriate and discriminatory because it stated the community would be negatively affected if Pakistani, Indian and Chinese people settled in the area.

Council said the letter “crossed the line” of fair comment and should have been either rejected or carefully edited to remove any racial comments. The newspaper’s position was that it publishes almost all letters by readers to reflect a variety of opinion in the community, located near Thunder Bay. The Echo said readers are also encouraged to respond to its content and several letters expressing concern were published.

It was noted that the next issue of the weekly paper carried five letters expressing outrage over statements made in the original letter, which resulted in the complaint filed by a township official to the Press Council. While the timely rebuttal by readers mitigated the damage done by the original letter, Council voiced concern over the potential harm an inappropriate letter might have on a community and its reputation.

It noted that Canada is a multi-cultural nation, and discrimination against any group based on colour, race, religious affiliation, sexual orientation or ethnicity should not be tolerated. Unnecessarily hurtful comments published against identifiable groups is not acceptable, according to the Press Council code of ethics and Ontario Human Rights legislation.

Council cautioned editors to be mindful of the implications of thoughtless comment contained in some letters, noting that a newspaper is responsible for the material it publishes. It also noted that the Echo’s editor should have followed the paper’s published guidelines for contributing letter writers, which states: “We reserve the right to edit, condense or reject submissions for accuracy, brevity, clarity, good taste and legal reasons.”

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