MONTREAL - Stéphane Gendron, mayor of Huntingdon, a small town 75 kilometres southwest of Montreal, is to be investigated by the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council for comments he made against Israel on his television show last month.
Gendron is one of the hosts of the talk show Face à Face which airs on Quebec's V Television Network.
On the program, he stated that he supported Quebec MNA, Amir Khadir, who participated in protests organized by Palestinian and Jewish Unity (PAJU) in December 2010 that encouraged a boycott of a Montreal store that sold Israeli-made shoes.
Gendron also criticizes Israel's occupation of Palestine and described Israel as an "apartheid regime" and as a "country that does not deserve to exist."
The CBSC has apparently received several complaints from Jewish rights groups over Gendron’s comments.
"Political debate about religious issues is a fundamental part of our society — so long as that debate is done in a respectful way," John MacNab, executive director of the CBSC told the CBC.
“So I expect that generally it's OK. It’s only where a comment becomes abusive or unduly discriminatory that we have a problem."
He said if the council does find a problem with Gendron's comments, it would be up to the Gendron's employers to rectify the situation.
Michelle Whiteman of Honest Reporting Canada, an organization that monitors media coverage of Israel, said Gendron's public position makes his opinions particularly troubling.
“He's been given a responsible position as a television host of a morning show in Quebec, so people look to him as someone who has a certain amount of authority … and knowledge,” she said.
Her group is calling for Gendron to be fired and for the network to apologize.
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