Today Canadian regulators ruled that Al-Jazeera English (AJE) can be distributed through digital satellites in the country, says CBC.ca.
The approval is the culmination of a February application to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) from Toronto-based satellite service Ethnic Channels Group Ltd.
Ethnic Channels had asked to be able to carry the English-language version of the Qatar-based broadcaster, and it could be beamed to subscribers by January or February.
"The commission notes the substantial support for the addition of AJE to the digital lists and considers that AJE will expand the diversity of editorial points of view in the Canadian broadcasting system," the CRTC stated.
"Further, despite concerns expressed by certain parties, there is nothing on the record of the current proceeding that leads the commission to conclude that AJE would violate Canadian regulations, such as those regarding abusive comment."
Meanwhile, eyebrows are being raised by folks at the Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC) and B'nai Brith Canada. Although they didn’t expressly come out for or against the move, they voiced concerns about the fairness of AJE’s coverage.
The CJC recommended that the CRTC make sure that the service stay separate from its Arabic-language sister station. The Honest Reporting Canada group gave two instances of Al-Jazeera English's journalism that it claimed did not meet Canadian standards, but it did not officially oppose the application.
For its part, Ethnic Channels Group maintained that Al-Jazeera English, a 24-hour international news service which has been operating since 2006 in more than 100 countries, has an adequate record of accuracy and balance.
Based in Doha, Qatar, Al-Jazeera English has been criticized for its reporters' access to Islamist group al-Qaeda. Al-Jazeera has a large Washington bureau and plans to open a bureau in Canada.
melissa@tvguide.ca
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