Liberal MP Kate Young wrote a letter to Canada’s broadcast regulator to support a television station’s licence renewal application, despite federal guidelines that prohibit parliamentary secretaries from making such interventions.
Young wrote the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission earlier this month to encourage renewal of Bell Media’s licence for CTV London, where she was a news anchor for many years.
She is MP for the Ontario riding of London West, where the station is located, and also parliamentary secretary to Transport Minister Marc Garneau.
Federal conflict of interest and ethics commissioner Mary Dawson issued a guideline in October 2024 saying cabinet ministers and parliamentary secretaries “may not under any circumstances” attempt to intervene in the decision-making process of an administrative tribunal, such as the CRTC, on behalf of any constituent in any riding.
Jocelyne Brisebois, a spokeswoman for the commissioner, said Dawson was unaware of Young’s letter but would look into the matter.
In a statement, Young apologized for the letter, saying that when she wrote it she did not take into consideration the implications of her role as parliamentary secretary.
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