Quebec police monitor TV, radio

Year Published:  1989
Resource Type:  Article
Cx Number:  CX3674

Abstract: 
Quebec provincial police have been monitoring and recording most public-affairs shows on Quebec television and radio, including open-line shows, for the past 19 years, it has been revealed by Justice Minister Gil Remillard. The information emerged when it was revealed that the Surete du Quebec had complained about radio talk-show host Andre Arthur to the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). The force sent a letter to the CRTC, along with recordings of 10 shows in which Mr. Arthur was sharply critical of police operations. The letter complained that among other things in Mr. Arthur's shows, police officers were referred to as "little local Pinochets". Mr. Remillard defended the police practice of taping most public-affairs shows. "The air waves are of the public domain; this is not electronic eavesdropping, and everything is done in respect of the guarantees of freedom of speech and information written in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms," he said.