Derogatory songs 'Transcona Girls' and 'North End Boy' prompt regulatory action

The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) has asked Rogers Media to hand over audio recordings of two derogatory songs played on the 92 CITI FM show Wheeler in the Morning. The CBSC is the self-regulatory body created by private broadcasters to respond to complaints made by listeners or viewers.

"What we have received, so far, is mainly complaints concerning the website of CITI where there were a couple of songs that were not appropriate according to the complainants," said Andrée Noël, national chair of the CBSC.

The CBSC has received 20 to 30 complaints about the songs North End Boy and Transcona Girls, she said.

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Complaints allege songs in the videos use "aggressive language" and "language abusive to women," said Noël. Only a handful of the complaints relate directly to the songs when they aired on radio.

CBSC can only investigate radio or television broadcasts, not content made for social media sites like Youtube or Twitter.

"We have codes which we apply in broadcasting, but it's got to be broadcasting. We don't have any powers in terms of internet," said Noël.

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Noël said her organization needs Rogers Media's assistance to begin an investigation into the complaints to see whether the radio broadcast broke with CBSC's code of ethics.

"We have requested the logger tapes for the broadcast. We haven't received them yet. So there's nothing we can do now but we have asked Rogers Media to send us the tapes," said Noël.

"They have confirmed to us that they have made apologies on air and that they had suspended Mr. Wheeler. We cannot make a decision without having the tapes in front of us."

Dave Wheeler, host of Wheeler in the Morning, was suspended on Tuesday over the controversial songs. On Monday Rogers Media removed animated videos of the songs from social media.

Once the CBSC receives the radio recordings and if complainants are not satisfied by Rogers Media's actions, the CBSC can assemble a six-person panel — which includes three members of the public and three industry representatives — to review the broadcast and determine whether it violates its code of ethics.

"There's a code which has been adopted by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters and validated by the CRTC," said Noël.

The CBSC is not able to fine Rogers Media; however, if the company is found in violation of the code of ethics three times, they can be kicked out of the CBSC which could put their CRTC broadcasting licence at risk, said Noël.​

Rogers Media has 15 days to respond to the complaints.