Complaints Procedure

STEP 1

1. A complaint must be filed within 45 days from the date on which the article giving rise to the complaint was published.
   
2. The complainant is required to forward to the newspaper a letter addressed to the publisher with a copy to the editor. The letter should contain the following information:
   (a) A copy of the article which is the subject of the complaint.
   (b) The section(s) of the Press Council's Code of Practice which have allegedly been breached by the article.
   (c) A statement from the complainant outlining why he or she believes a violation of the guidelines set out in the Code has occurred, along with any supporting material relevant to the complaint.
   
3. A complainant is required to also send a copy of the above material to the Executive Director of the Press Council.
   
4. Failure by a complainant to comply with the above conditions may result in a complaint being invalidated.
   
5. The newspaper, on receipt of the complaint, is required to respond within 45 days to the complainant and to also send a copy of that response to the Press Council.
   
6. Failure by a newspaper to respond to a complainant in the manner described above will result in a complaint automatically proceeding to a Review Board (see Step 2).
   
7. The time limit expressed in points 1. and 5. above may be extended at the discretion of the Press Council.

Note: The process described in STEP 1 is designed to allow newspapers and complainants to attempt to resolve their differences without direct intervention on the part of the Council. Only if this process is unsuccessful will the procedures outlined in STEP 2 come into play.

Participants are encouraged to resolve their complaint at any time during the complaint process, even during a Review or a Hearing.

STEP 2

If as a result of the process described in STEP 1, a complaint is not resolved, the following procedure will apply:

1. The Executive Director of the Press Council shall attempt to mediate a settlement of the complaint.
   
2. If mediation is successful, the complaint will be considered resolved and the file closed.
   
3. If mediation does not succeed, the Executive Director will then assign the file to a Review Board made up of three Directors of the Press Council, two of whom shall be public members and one an industry member. No industry member shall sit on the review board dealing with a complaint against the industry member's own newspaper.
   
4. The Review Board shall review the complaint within 14 days of the referral, taking into account the article, the Code of Practice and any other material it deems relevant and shall then make a recommendation as to whether a full hearing by the Directors of the Press Council is warranted.
   
5. When a Review Board recommends that a hearing be held into a complaint, the Board shall notify the Executive Director, who shall then notify the complainant(s) and the newspaper and set a date for the hearing.
   
6. When a Review Board recommends a hearing not be held, the Chair of the Press Council shall immediately be notified by the Executive Director. The Chair may then decide that consideration of the matter by the full Press Council is warranted. In such an event, the Chair shall notify the Executive Director, who shall then arrange to present the Review Board decision to the full Press Council for consideration. Taking into account all the factors outlined in (4) above, the full Council will either confirm the decision of the Review Board, in which case the matter will be concluded, or reverse the decision of the Review Board and instruct the Executive Director to notify the complainant(s) and the newspaper and set a date for a hearing. If the Chair confirms the decision of the Review Board, the matter will then be concluded and the parties will be so notified.

NOTE: Press Council decisions are final and not subject to appeal.

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