"Opening your news segment with such a sentence implies a bias against the action of the protesters. It undermines the intentions behind the protest, which was to push the Canadian government to implement an arms embargo on Israel, because of Israel’s genocide in Gaza."
March 1, 2024
To:
Alexandra Pinto, Anchor, CTV News at 6, CTV News Kitchener
Krista Simpson, Producer, CTV Kitchener
Dan Taylor, Managing Editor, CTV News
Dear Alexandra Pinto, Krista Simpson, and Dan Taylor,
I am writing to express concern about the CTV News Kitchener at Six segment, “Protest at Kitchener Colt Factory,” published on February 28 in CTV News Kitchener.
First, CTV News Kitchener at Six host Alexandra Pinto, says: “Employees at firearms manufacture in the city of Kitchener were greeted by protesters as they try to go to work today.”
Opening your news segment with such a sentence implies a bias against the action of the protesters. It undermines the intentions behind the protest, which was to push the Canadian government to implement an arms embargo on Israel, because of Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
The prejudicial language chosen to describe the action of the protesters makes it all about how it was disrupting people from going to work instead of how the action is intended to push Canada to comply with its obligation to prevent genocide.
I, therefore, ask you to use more neutral language when reporting on local actions that are trying to push Canada to comply with its international obligations.
Second, the headline: “Protest at Kitchener Colt Factory” and Pinto mentioning that “[Protesters] are calling on the Canadian government to implement an immediate arms embargo on Israel amidst the ongoing violence in Gaza” do not give a full picture of why that action was undertaken.
More essential background information about the protest, the organizers, and why the protest happened should have been provided to understand why that action is so important.
Simply saying “the ongoing violence in Gaza” not only downplays the reality of what is happening: a genocide. It also avoids Canada’s complicity, after it’s been revealed that the government had approved exports of $28.5 M worth of military goods between October and December 2023 to Israel, which is more than any other year over the past 30 years.
I, therefore, ask you to mention more information about the situation in Gaza and Canada’s arms complicity when reporting on local actions.
Third, Pinto says: “Earlier this month, the federal government announced it was considering sanctioning Israeli settlers in the West Bank or accused of attacking Palestinians. Now, Canada has also announced sanctions against ten people affiliated with Hamas and a Palestinian militant group.”
While this might seem like relevant information, finishing your news segment with it doesn’t seem right. It looked like an attempt to downplay Canada’s lack of action in the face of a plausible genocide.
I hope CTV News Kitchener will consider these suggestions when reporting on local actions that are trying to push Canada to comply with its international obligations.
Sincerely,
Fatima Haidar,
Media Analyst, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East