Saturday, September 09, 2006

Radio-Canada Journalist Suspended For Supporting the Troops

So supporting our Canadian soldiers and own mission now is controversial? I think 50 years ago in the US the opposite was true for Vietnam. Blame the hippies for this one.

While I agree her open letter to the troops does indicate she cannot be objective on the issue, at the same time, we know that everyone has an opinion and that no one can truly be objective, impartial and unbiased on ANY issue. It's simply impossible. Kudos to Ms. St-Pierre for being honest with her opinion that, frankly, in Quebec is in the minority.

I believe we have the right to question, criticize and debate the mission, but always ALWAYS support the troops. They aren't the ones making the decisions of what Canada does and where we go. They do what they are told, they go where they are told to go.

I want to start wearing my poppy now, even through it's super early. Last year my blog, when it was over at livejournal, sparked a debate between commentators about wearing the poppy.




Toronto Star Reports:

OTTAWA (Reuters) - One of Canada's top television reporters has been suspended from her job for praising the country's military mission in Afghanistan, the company said on Friday.


Christine St-Pierre, a veteran Ottawa correspondent for French-language public broadcaster Radio-Canada, wrote an open letter to Canada's 2,300 troops telling them to ignore mounting criticism of the mission.

Five Canadian soldiers were killed last weekend, prompting ever louder calls for Ottawa to review the mission. One opposition party wants the troops to come back next February, two years ahead of schedule.

"We owe you all our respect and our unfailing support ... dear soldiers, your tears are not in vain, your tears are brave," St-Pierre wrote in the letter, which Montreal's La Presse newspaper published on Thursday.

Radio-Canada suspended her for breaching internal regulations that stipulate employees are not allowed to express their opinions on controversial issues.

"Ms. St-Pierre infringed a number of Radio-Canada's journalistic rules ... she has been relieved of her functions for an indeterminate period," said spokesman Marc Pichette, adding that the broadcaster was investigating what had happened.

St-Pierre told La Presse she knew she had gone too far and said she could no longer be objective when it came to reporting on events in Afghanistan.

"I don't think I'll be covering this story again," she said


Read French (primary source) article about in in LaPresse here

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