Non-profit Egale Canada has asked the CRTC to hold public consultations about removing Fox News from Canadian airwaves in response to broadcasts it says are contributing to a rise in anti-2SLGBTQ+ rhetoric

Egale Canada is a non-profit that aims to improve the lives of 2SLGBTQ+ people in Canada and globally through public policy, legal advocacy and awareness-driving efforts.

Last week, a segment on Tucker Carlson Tonight featured Egale and an open letter it issued in March attempting to bring more attention to the growing number of threats “towards the safety, freedoms and rights of 2SLGBTQI people, especially those who are Two-Spirit, trans, nonbinary and/or gender non-conforming.” Though they weren’t mentioned specifically, the letter was accompanied by a photo of a drag storytime event, where drag performers read stories for young children. Storytime and similar events have been a target of right-wing media and online commentators, who have falsely claimed that they are being used to “groom” children.

During his segment, Carlson’s claims included that Egale’s statements about rising anti-2SLGBTQ+ rhetoric were a lie, as well as that trans people were targeting Christians.

In an open letter to CRTC chair and CEO Vicky Eatrides and signed by Egale Canada executive director Helen Kennedy, the non-profit said the program “is in clear violation of Canadian broadcasting standards and has no place on Canadian broadcasting networks.” The segment, Egale said, was a clear attempt to “stoke resentment” towards 2SLGBTQ+ people, which would be in violation of section 5(b) of the Television Broadcasting Regulations, which state that broadcasters can be fined or lose their licenses for “any abusive comment or abusive pictorial representation that, when taken in context, tends to or is likely to expose an individual or a group or class of individuals to hatred or contempt.”

“Egale has experienced firsthand the hate that is generated from a single segment aired on Fox News in Canada,” the letter said. “We cannot begin to imagine the broader impacts and potential rise in hate that might result from allowing more content like this to air in Canada. The CRTC is obligated to investigate whether the continued broadcasting of Fox News on Canadian television is in line with the Television Broadcasting Regulations. People in Canada deserve to know that the news broadcast on Canadian airwaves is reliable and objective, and marginalized groups must be protected from malicious propaganda.”

As a result, Egale is urging the CRTC to exercise its right to hold a public hearing in response to complaints where it would be in the public interest to do so, which it is says is the case in this situation.

“Given the rising levels of anti-trans hate around the world and the potential for segments like the one recently aired on Fox News, there needs to be a serious Canadian conversation about the broadcasting of Fox News in Canada,” the letter said. “The Television Broadcasting Regulations represent a democratic consensus on what we do and do not accept on our airwaves, and we have agreed that we do not tolerate abuse and misinformation. Fox News must be held to these same standards in Canadian broadcasting.”

The CRTC has yet to publicly respond to Egale’s request.