Quebec broadcaster shows porn to 13-year-olds, advisory claim says it’s ‘suitable’ content

The National Broadcast Standards Council said while Quebecers have different viewing habits than the rest of the country, depicting sex acts as suitable viewing for Grade Six students went too far.

"A Francophone market might tolerate more explicit sexual content than would an Anglophone market," wrote the Council. However, the offending program was so "troublesome" it crossed the line, the panel concluded.

"Nudity alone is not a determinative criterion," wrote the Council. "The key issue is whether the sexual activity is obvious and demonstrative. The panel concludes that, even with the chosen camera angles, the sexual content is not only obvious but demonstrative. There is no doubt the couple is engaging in various sexual practices and conspicuously having sex."

CFJP TV of Montréal, a Bell Media digital channel, on February 22, broadcast an episode of the drama Mon ex à Moi depicting the lives and loves of young people in the province. The program carried an advisory claiming it was suitable for viewers over 13 though it showed nudity, simulated intercourse and comic commentary on body parts and sexual functions.

"The Québec Regional Panel is fully conscious of the fact it is unlikely this would be the rating by English-language broadcasters," wrote the Council, adding the program was "intended for adult audiences."

Station managers apologized and said they would not replay the episode. It was broadcast at 7 pm on a Monday.

The Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ Code Of Ethics states, "programming which contains sexually explicit material or coarse or offensive language intended for adult audiences shall not be telecast before the late viewing period defined as 9 pm to 6 am," and must carry a plain warning.

The Council ruled the Mon ex à Moi advisory was insufficient, and the content too raunchy for 7 pm viewing even in Québec. "The majority of parents would find the sexual content troublesome and would cross the threshold of acceptability for young adolescents," wrote the Council.

"Broadcasters’ codes are not censorship tools," said the panel. Guidelines were intended to caution viewers beforehand "to judge for themselves," it said.

The Council, in an earlier 2016 ruling, concluded French and English-speaking television audiences had different tolerances for profanity. "The word ‘f—k’ in French does not have the vulgar connotation it can have in English," it ruled.

"It’s all in the eye of the beholder," John McNab, then-executive director, said in an earlier interview. "It’s all about allowing the people freedom to choose the content they want and providing tools for people who don’t want to watch it."