Tip: Make your complaint immediately. Broadcasters are only required to keep tapes of their programming for less than a month.

Most Canadian broadcasters follow a set of voluntary codes, administered by the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) – which also responds to public complaints about radio and TV programming. If a consumer does complain, and the CBSC decides in his/her favour, that’s often enough to get a show removed from the air.


To complain about television or radio content:

• Tip: Keep it simple. All the CBSC needs is: 1) Name of the show 2) Time and date 3) A sentence or two about why you found the content inappropriate or offensive

  Contact the station responsible for the inappropriate or offensive content.
• If you don’t receive a satisfactory reply, send a letter of complaint to the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC), using the complaint form on its Web site.
• You can also send a copy of your letter to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), using the complaint form on its Web site
• For maximum effectiveness, you could also contact the companies that advertise during the program you wish to comment on. Explain to them what you like or don’t like about the content of the show.
• If a good-quality show that you enjoy is dropped, contact the network and voice your opinion that you’d like to see it restored.