CBC to Regulate Employees' Blogs?

I'm just about to leave for vacation, but this post from Inside the CBC caught my eye (on the way out the door):

Any CBC employee who wants to start a personal blog which “clearly associates them with CBC/Radio-Canada” now requires their supervisor’s permission, according to a new policy “guideline document.

The unsigned document [ed: The document came with an email that noted which office developed the guidelines] also states that this rule applies “not only to CBC/Radio-Canada journalists but to any corporation employee.”

Besides what you’d expect in a document like this, like not using the CBC’s resources (email, bandwidth, time, etc.) to update your blog, the policy states that such bloggers are “expected to behave in a way that is consistent with our journalistic philosophy, editorial values and corporate policies.”

According to the post linked above, the policy includes the following restrictions on speech:

Further, the blog cannot advocate for a group or a cause, or express partisan political opinion. It should also avoid controversial subjects or contain material that could bring CBC/Radio-Canada into disrepute.

To start and maintain a blog of this kind, you need your supervisor’s approval.

Needless to say, employment lawyers across Canada (the writer included) will be more than pleased to represent any CBC employee who has been subjected to discipline or job action as a result of this wrong-minded and apparently unconstitutional policy.

Please note, however, that Wise Law Blog has not yet had the opportunity to contact CBC to verify whether the report as to this policy is accurate. We will update.

(h/t - Saskboy)

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

Visit our Website: http://www.wiselaw.net/employment.html/