Four complaints submitted to the Quebec Press Council (CPQ) were recently accepted by the media honor tribunal. Among them we find the host and co-host of the show " Maurais live Radio station CHOI 98,1 FM Radio X who criticized Bill 44 and are now accused of conflict of interest.
OWNER AND DEFENDER OF VAPE: CONFLICT OF INTEREST?
A co-host at CHOI 98,1 FM Radio X, Jean-Christophe Ouellet, was in conflict of interest " obvious »During a column on vaping made on the show Maurais live, decided the Press Council. In the spring of 2015, Mr. Ouellet commented on the air Bill 44 intended to restrict the use of electronic cigarettes, while he himself owns a vaping shop. " He should have refrained from discussing any subject relating to vaping “, Supports the CDP. The host Dominic Maurais is also blamed by the Council for not having intervened in order to avoid this conflict of interest. " On the contrary, he trivializes the situation and condones it, bantering with Mr. Ouellet and adopting a complacent attitude towards him. ».
This is Mrs. Sabrina Gagnon-Rochette who filed a complaint the 6 may 2015 against Mr. Jean-Christophe Ouellet, co-host, Mr. Dominic Maurais, host, the show "Maurais live" and the station CHOI 98,1 FM Radio X, about the distribution of the chronicle Mr. Ouellet, entitled "Vaponews". According to the complainant, Mr. Ouellet is in a conflict of interest.
ANALYSIS OF THE COMPLAINT SUBMITTED
Ms. Sabrina Gagnon-Rochette expressed her complaint in these terms: " Maurais chronicles "Vaponews". His co-facilitator, Jean-Christophe Ouellet, owns a vaping shop in Lévis. He does not even hide it. 
There is a conflict of interest! »
CHOI 98,1 FM Radio X has refused to respond to this complaint.
In its Guide to Ethics Rights and Responsibilities of the Press (DERP), it is stipulated that: News organizations and journalists should avoid conflicts of interest. They must, moreover, avoid any situation which risks making them appear in conflict of interest, or giving the impression that they are linked with particular interests or some political, financial or other power. »
The DERP guide also mentions that: "Any laxness in this respect jeopardizes the credibility of the media and journalists, as well as the information they transmit to the public. It is imperative to maintain the public's confidence in the independence and integrity of the information it receives and to the media and information professionals who collect, process and disseminate it. It is essential that the ethical principles in this area, and the resulting rules of professional conduct, be rigorously respected by newspaper companies and journalists in the performance of their duties. "
Finally, it is emphasized that: News organizations must themselves ensure that their journalists do not find themselves in a conflict of interest or an appearance of conflict of interest through their assignments. […] The Press Council recommends that the media adopt a clear policy and adequate prevention and control mechanisms in this matter. These policies and mechanisms should cover all sectors of information, whether these fall under information journalism or opinion journalism. (Pp. 24-25)
For the Commission, Mr. Ouellet's conflict of interest is obvious. Given his status as an owner of an electronic cigarette shop, he should have refrained from addressing any subject related to vaping.
The Council has already clearly established that, in matters of conflict of interest, transparency does not relieve the journalist of his duty of independence. In his decision Ian Stone c. Beryl Wajsman (2013-03-84), in particular, a conflict of interest grievance was held against the editor-in-chief of the weekly The Suburban, because of his membership in the movement "Canadian Rights in Quebec" (CRITIQ) despite the fact that Mr. Wajsman has openly and publicly displayed his association with this movement.
In Sylvain Boucher c. Nicolas Mavrikakis (2013-02-077), we read: " The Commission shares the complainant's view that Mr. Mavrikakis has placed himself in a situation of apparent conflict of interest and considers that an appearance of a conflict of interest is not dispelling the mere fact of admitting it. In other words, while transparency in this regard is indeed a virtue, it is not an end in itself, and neither the public nor journalists should be satisfied with it. »
For the Council, the interests he held in an electronic cigarette business prevented Mr. Ouellet from legitimately commenting on the "Maurais Live" program on the subject of vaping while being a co-facilitator. In this context, his conflict of interest cast doubt on the integrity and credibility of his remarks. Failure to avoid this situation is an ethical fault.
For these reasons, the conflict of interest grievance is held against Mr. Ouellet. The grievance was also upheld against CHOI 98,1 FM Radio X because it failed to ensure that Mr. Ouellet had a conflict of interest.
The majority of the members of the committee (6 / 8) also conclude that the responsibility of Mr. Dominic Maurais is engaged for this grievance. Mr. Maurais shared, as a facilitator, the responsibility to preserve public confidence in the independence and integrity of information. In fact, despite his prominent role at the helm of the program and his knowledge of the commercial activities of his co-facilitator, Mr. Maurais does not ensure that Mr. Ouellet does not find himself in a conflict of interest. On the contrary, he trivialized and condoned the situation, joking with Mr. Ouellet and adopting a complacent attitude toward him.
Two members (2 / 8), however, express their dissent on this point. On the contrary, they believe that Mr. Ouellet is solely responsible for the fault he committed and that this responsibility can not extend to a colleague, in a logic of culpability by association. Mr. Maurais is not personally in a conflict of interest, and therefore can not be held responsible for a fault that he did not commit himself.
Find the full complaint at this address.
