March 11, 2016

Mr. Doucet,
First and foremost, thank you for sharing your views with us.
In terms of your specific concerns, we are investigating each comment you have brought
to our attention. We are removing those which were published in error and sincerely
regret that they were made public. This is an unfortunate but unavoidable consequence
of dealing with such a high volume of comments. Again, the point is not to remove things
with which we disagree, just comments that fall outside our guidelines, including into the
realm of hate speech. Moving forward, we will ensure that our guidelines are applied
even more rigorously and judiciously.
I believe there’s value in explaining a little bit of the history of commenting. At CBC,
we've witnessed the exponential growth of commenting and online engagement. It is
valued by a significant number of people who tell us regularly that it is an important
space for them. And while we've seen thoughtful, insightful and moving comments on
our pages, we've seen objectionable comments as well.
CBC is not alone in facing these challenges. Many publishers, including some major
newspaper sites in Canada, have shut comments down entirely.
At CBC News, we believe audience engagement is central to our mandate as a public
broadcaster; especially true in an era of participatory technology. That said, balancing
freedom of expression with the right to respectful debate on a site that receives upwards
of a million comments each month is a daunting challenge.
Last November, we took the unusual and temporary measure of suspending comments
from stories relating to aboriginal issues because there was an inordinate number of
comments that regularly contravened our guidelines and constituted hate. In January,
after experimenting with different moderation approaches, we now make sure all
comments on all our stories are reviewed by a human moderator before publication.
These moderators are employed by an independent company we contract to moderate
our comment spaces, in accordance with CBC-developed and publicly posted
guidelines.
We’re experimenting with new ways for our audience to engage with us digitally. We’re
constantly reviewing our processes and making adjustments to maintain a democratic
space where Canadians can debate the issues of the day. More changes are needed,
and will come.

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On the question of anonymity, we know that requiring “real names” does not guarantee
civility. One only has to read comments on Facebook or conversations on Twitter for
first-hand evidence of signed, yet hateful and vitriolic comments, on this subject and
others. Permitting commenters to use pseudonyms allows for an inclusive platform for all
voices, including victims of crime and whistleblowers, to name but two groups who in our
view, have valid reasons not to identify themselves by name. This approach is also
being reviewed.
At CBC, we value diversity of opinion just as we value Canada’s linguistic and cultural
diversity. It is within CBC’s mandate and part of our obligations under the federal
Broadcasting Act to carry different points of view on controversial matters of public
interest and concern. We will always advocate for free speech, for Canadians’ right to
voice critical opinions and dissenting views, even when perceived by others to be
ignorant or ill-informed. At the same time, we will continually work to ensure our
guidelines are being respected and enforced.
We're committed to ensuring our comment spaces provide a forum for safe and
respectful debate and exchange of ideas for all Canadians. Thank you once again for
your feedback.

Brodie Fenlon
Senior Director, Digital News