Enzo Loschiavo, Manager, National Post Sales
Open Letter to The National PostI’ve just filed a complaint against The National Post with The National Ads Council for printing this ad for Charles McVety's "Institute for Canadian Values" promoting Religious Intolerance and HATE. It is a clear example of the Religious Right lobbying to sabotage our tax-funded education system
Besides being in very poor taste, it also violates section #14* of the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards http://t.co/ypFD6yp3
When can your readers expect an extraction and apology?
Thanks in advance, Pete
* Advertisements shall not:
(a) condone any form of personal discrimination, including that based upon race, national origin, religion, sex or age;
(b) appear in a realistic manner to exploit, condone or incite violence; nor appear to condone, or directly encourage, bullying; nor directly encourage, or exhibit obvious indifference to, unlawful behaviour;
(c) demean, denigrate or disparage any identifiable person, group of persons, firm, organization, industrial or commercial activity, profession, product or service or attempt to bring it or them into public contempt or ridicule;
(d) undermine human dignity; or display obvious indifference to, or encourage, gratuitously and without merit, conduct or attitudes that offend the standards of public decency prevailing among a significant segment of the population.
petedako.ca © PETE DAKO , 2011 The Official Website"
1 comment:
NAT POST replies: As you know earlier this week the National Post ran an advertisement that has caused some controversy. The ad, bought by the Institute for Canadian Values, argued against aspects of the Ontario school curriculum that include instruction about certain aspects of human sexuality. Specifically, it objected to teaching young children - those between junior kindergarten and Grade 3 - about transsexual, transgender, intersexed and two-spirited issues.
The National Post has in place procedures for vetting the content of advertising, especially advocacy advertising. The procedures are intended to ensure that such ads meet a standard of tone and respect that is consistent with furthering constructive dialogue about important public policy issues.
In this case, those procedures were not followed. An ad that should not have run in its proposed form was allowed to run.
This ad will not run in the National Post again.
The National Post believes strongly in the principles of free speech and open, unhindered debate. We believe unpopular points of view should not be censored simply because some readers may find them disturbing, or even offensive. Free speech does not apply only to views that will not offend anyone.
The ad in question was attempting to make the case that the Ontario curriculum was teaching very young children about issues that, at that age, should be the domain of parents. In addition, it made the case that even when parents or teachers may object to the material being taught, they did not have the right, in the case of parents, to remove their children from the class, or in the case of teachers, to decline to teach the material on the grounds that they objected to it.
In an open society, these positions are worthy of being part of the debate on this issue. They are legitimate arguments to make in a paid advertisement in a media outlet.
Where the ads exceeded the bounds of civil discourse was in their tone and manipulative use of a picture of a young girl; in the suggestion that such teaching "corrupts" children, with everything that such a charge implies; and in their singling out of specific group of people who have made choices about their sexuality with which the group disagrees.
The fact that we will not be publishing these ads again represents a recognition on our part that publishing them in the first place was a mistake. The National Post would like to apologize unreservedly to anyone who was offended by them. We will be taking steps to ensure that in future our procedures for vetting the content of advertising will be strictly adhered to.
In addition, the Post will be donating the proceeds from the advertisement to an organization that promotes the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered issues.
Thank you for writing.
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