Recent Reviews
U.S. President's visit to Israel
The complainant objected to what he felt were two instances of "misinformation" in reports about U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to Israel. CBC caught one error and corrected it. There was no violation of policy in the second report. ...Essay about Republican Party
The complainant characterized Michael Enright's essay about the state of the Republican Party as a "rant" and said it lacked balance. I found that inflammatory language and some of Enright's observations detracted from the analysis. ...Video of injured Palestinian man
The complainant said a CBC Television report on The National was inaccurate in portraying an injured Palestinian because of subsequent video showing him seemingly uninjured. There was not a violation of CBC Journalistic Standards and Practices. ...Film critic
The complainant felt that Ottawa Morning's film critic was in a conflict of interest because he is also head of the Canadian Film Institute. Provided that his affiliation is identified, I see no impediment in using this reviewer. ...Request to remove articles
As difficult as it sometimes is, CBC management made the right decision to leave a story online when asked to remove it. The review considers the issues involved. ...Our Commitment
The CBC belongs to the people of Canada. As the public broadcaster, the CBC plays a unique role in Canadian journalism. At the CBC information is a public service. The Ombudsman is here to ensure CBC upholds its standards and practices to provide you with information programming of the highest quality.
We recognize your right to accuracy, fairness and integrity in CBC's journalism. And we recognize your right to hold CBC accountable for the quality of its information programming.
To help meet the commitment to excellence - and to help you the citizen exercise your rights - the CBC established the Office of the Ombudsman as an independent institution within the Corporation. The Ombudsman has a mandate to represent listeners, viewers and readers within the CBC, a mandate to address your concerns about the quality of CBC journalism.
The Office of the CBC Ombudsman represents the public to ensure CBC upholds its information standards and practices.
Ombudsman Blog
Two findings released
Since my last blog post I have released two findings following public complaints about CBC news and information content. The first review involved a segment on CBC Radio's The Current on women in combat roles in the military. The complainant ...Reviews released
Since my last post I have released two findings of reviews following public complaints about CBC news and information content. The first complaint involved CBC Television coverage of violence in the Gaza, in particular whether the content provided adequate background ...Finding released
Since my last post I have released a finding on a public complaint about a CBC.ca report.. The complaint involved a CBC Vancouver report seen on television, heard on radio and carried online in which CBC News enlisted teens aged ...Reviews released and under way
Since my last post I have completed five reviews and released their findings. Three more have been launched as a result of public complaints. The first review involved a complaint about the fairness of a CBC.ca and CBC Radio North ...Next ombudsman for CBC announced
Today CBC announced the appointment of Esther Enkin, the executive editor of CBC News, as its next Ombudsman for English Services. Her appointment is effective January 1, when I will leave the role and serve as an advisor to the ...Journalistic Standards and Practices
CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices are its journalistic values. They provide the policy framework within which CBC journalism seeks to meet expectations and obligations.
The Ombudsman's task is to determine whether a program or report has complied with these standards and practices.
Find out more about our standards and practices.
Make a Complaint »
To make a public complaint to the Office of the Ombudsman, you can use our standard form by clicking here, or you can write to us at the address below.
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Esther Enkin
Ombudsman
CBC
P.O. Box Station A
Toronto, Ontario M5W 1E6
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Phone: (416) 205-2978
Fax: (416) 205-2825