The Republican Party has withdrawn media accreditation for CBC/Radio-Canada in light of the upcoming midterm convention.
On Monday, Chuck Thompson, the head of public affairs at CBC, confirmed that the Republican National Committee (RNC) will no longer grant accreditation to CBC/Radio-Canada reporters for the convention taking place in Dallas, Texas, on September 9 and 10.
Thompson stated in a written communication that CBC is currently assessing the RNC’s decision.
“This is an unfortunate situation; we hope they will reconsider.”
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Organizers of the convention did not respond to CBC News’ emailed inquiries for comment on Monday evening.
The White House directed CBC’s questions to the RNC, which CBC News was unable to contact by phone later that evening.
This accreditation revocation coincides with heightened tensions between Canada and the United States, marked by a fresh cycle of reciprocal sanctions and intense rhetoric from political figures on both sides of the border.
Recently, Republican lawmakers and officials from the Trump administration also criticized CBC following a leaked internal memo concerning the use of the terms “terrorism” and “terrorist” in connection with the 9/11 attacks, which garnered international attention.
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The internal memo referenced an existing policy instructing CBC journalists to “generally refrain from labeling any specific bombing or attack as a ‘terrorist act’ unless the term is attributed.”
This guidance faced significant backlash as the 25th anniversary of 9/11 approaches next month.
A group of Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives expressed on social media on Thursday, “What possible reason could there be for sanitizing the most devastating terrorist attack on American soil? Care to explain, @Canada?”
On Friday, Basem Boshra, CBC’s senior director of journalistic standards and public trust, announced that after reviewing the broadcaster’s current language guidelines, “we have opted to modify them to clarify that direct attribution is not necessary when describing the historic events of 9/11 as acts of terrorism.”
“This adjustment aims to eliminate what has inadvertently become a barrier to clarity and public understanding,” Boshra stated.