Source : Canadian Press

The watchdog that approves TV commercials for Canada's private broadcasters is being accused of censorship by a group that ran afoul of its guidelines.

Last week, the Television Bureau of Canada refused to approve a commercial aimed at Prime Minister Stephen Harper because it included an excerpt from one of his campaign speeches without his permission.

The Canadian Renewable Fuels Association, which produced the ad, then complained that the decision effectively gave Harper a veto over the commercial.

The ad has now been approved, but the association isn't happy, saying it won "on a technicality'' and the bureau will still apply the rule to future ads.

The commercial reminds people that in the last election, Harper promised to increase the ethanol content of gasoline and diesel fuel. It includes a brief snippet from a campaign speech.

It ran into problems Friday when it went for approval to the bureau, a body set up by the private broadcasters which vets ads to ensure they meet industry standards.

The agency said the biofuels ad wouldn't fly unless Harper gave permission for the use of the excerpt from his speech.

Kory Teneycke, executive director of the fuels association, said such a rule gives the prime minister a veto over the use of his public statements.

Teneycke contacted Mike Donison, executive director of the Conservative party, on Saturday and Donison said he'd never heard of such a thing.

"I am not aware how the party, or Mr. Harper for that matter, has anything to say -- permitting, refusing or otherwise -- about the broadcast of a clip from a public event,'' he said in an e-mail to Teneycke.

He said he had never been asked for such permission.

"I am frankly at a loss to understand why or what we are being asked at all.''

That confused response, however, was enough for the Television Bureau, which e-mailed an approval for the ad yesterday:

"Your attached e-mail from Michael Donison is sufficient and pending review of the final commercials . . . we will be in a position to confirm approval.''

But that's no victory, said Teneycke.

"It's a case of winning the battle and losing the war,'' he said. "They are saying our ad can go ahead on a technicality, but they are retaining their policy of requiring approval of the politician in question.

"Their position is the Conservative party isn't exercising their veto and our ad can air.''

"I'm not sure who gave this incredible power . . . This is a private organization that has decided to exercise what I think is a pretty huge stick in terms of what the public debate looks like.''

The policy is flat wrong, Teneycke said, but he's not sure how to fight a private group which imposes voluntary rules. He said the bureau has great clout because broadcasters won't air commercials that haven't been approved.

The analyst who originally demanded the Harper clearance refused to comment on the policy yesterday, referring all calls to Jim Patterson, president of the bureau. Patterson was not in the office yesterday.

Teneycke said it might be possible to bypass the bureau and ask each individual station to vet the ad and run it, but industry experts can't remember that ever being done.

© Canadian Press