Letter from the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) – Response to Complaint About Broadcast Bias
Date: April 21, 1993
Author: Jean-Maurice Olivier, Manager, Correspondence and Complaints Branch, CRTC
Addressed to: Valentina Krčmar, Director, Mothers for Peace – Bedem Ljubavi (Toronto Chapter)
View the Original Letter: https://voicesforcroatia.pybdev.ca/pdf/krcmar%20book%202_Part91-4.pdf
About This Letter
This letter, dated April 21, 1993, was sent by Jean-Maurice Olivier of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) in response to a complaint lodged by Valentina Krčmar, Director of Mothers for Peace (Bedem Ljubavi), regarding the March 29 edition of the Jane Hawton Show on CFRB Radio.
Krčmar’s original complaint (not included here) likely concerned biased or insensitive commentary related to the Bosnian War — part of a broader effort by Mothers for Peace to challenge misinformation and harmful portrayals of Croatian and Bosnian victims within Canadian media.
The CRTC’s response is polite but procedural, explaining the commission’s limited role in regulating broadcast content under the Broadcasting Act:
“The Broadcasting Act gives responsibility for program content to the broadcasters themselves. The Commission, accordingly, pursues written complaints by first forwarding letters to the broadcaster in question for a direct reply.”
The letter assures Krčmar that the CRTC has forwarded her complaint to CFRB and has requested a recording of the broadcast for review.
“I have also asked the station to send the Commission a tape of the broadcast in question. Once a review of this material is completed, the Commission will decide whether further regulatory action is required.”
While neutral in tone, the correspondence affirms that Mothers for Peace’s concerns were being formally investigated — evidence of the group’s persistent advocacy for accountability in Canadian media.
Krčmar’s complaints to both TVO and the CRTC in April 1993 highlight a key aspect of her activism: fighting not only the injustices of war abroad but also the misrepresentation of those wars in Western narratives. Through her efforts, she helped ensure that the suffering of Croatian and Bosnian civilians was neither minimized nor distorted by media complacency.
