Elected officials in Quebec's National Assembly adopted a motion Thursday denouncing the harassment and intimidation of journalists and camera operators covering the protests in the past few weeks.
The motion presented by Culture and Communications Minister Nathalie Roy, herself a former journalist, invited the National Assembly to reaffirm that "quality information is one of the pillars of our democracy" and that the profession of journalist "must be exercised without attacking the physical or moral integrity of those who practice it."
The motion, which was adopted without debate, also called on the National Assembly to condemn "the reprehensible acts perpetrated and the insulting comments made recently against Quebec journalists."
In recent days, a TVA journalist was harassed and intimidated when a demonstrator prevented him from doing his job and put his hand in front of the camera. Others are being insulted and interrupted while on the air.
UNION CALLS ON ALL PARTY LEADERS
Meantime, the Canadian Union of Public Employees has called on all political party leaders, both federal and provincial, to condemn the harassment of journalists and camera operators.
CUPE, which is affiliated with the FTQ, represents journalists at TVA and Le Journal de Québec, among others.
In a statement released Thursday, CUPE calls on all party leaders to denounce this situation, which is detrimental to journalistic work, and therefore to news coverage and democracy.
- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Feb. 17, 2022
