Yellowknife city council candidate off the radio airwaves following online backlash

A morning radio host in Yellowknife is hanging up his headphones for the next couple weeks, following criticism online over whether he should continue to be on the air while he's running for city council.

Josh Campbell announced on Monday he has suspended his on-air duties at CKLB until after the Oct. 15 municipal election.

The decision was made after Campbell, who was co-host of CKLB'sDenendehSunrise program, faced backlash on social media by some who claimed the station was breaching Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) regulations by allowing him to continue broadcasting.

The CRTC regulates broadcasting and telecommunications in Canada and is responsible for issuing licences for radio broadcasters, including CKLB.

Its guidelines says election candidates who are on-air media personalities on any platform would have an unfair advantage over their competition.

"These candidates should be removed from their on-air duties during the election period or on the date their candidacies are announced, whichever is later," the CRTC states on its website.

• Readthe CRTC guideline here

Campbell, who has worked for several local news organizations, said he was initially given permission to continue hosting on CKLB while running for council.

He maintains he has never used his platform for political advantage.

"My show is usually about Dene issues and the communities outside of Yellowknife. Whenever I did a Yellowknife story for CKLB, it was based in Ndilo or Detah," he said in an interview.

"If anyone listens to Denendeh Sunrise [they know] we don't talk about the city of Yellowknife."

Society misunderstood CRTC regulations

The organization that owns CKLB, the Native Communications Society of the N.W.T., says it misread the CRTC guidelines when it allowed Campbell to stay on the air.

Society CEO Rob Ouellettetold CBC News that when he and Campbell first read over the guidelines, they initially believed the rule only applied to candidates in federal and territorial elections.

Both Ouellette and Campbell said when they spoke with the CRTC on Monday morning, they were informed the rule does apply to municipal election candidates as well.

While Campbell will not continue his on-air duties for the time being, he says he will continue to work behind the scenes at CKLB and publish articles online as a news reporter.

In an email, the CRTCsaid a broadcaster would most likely not face any immediate repercussionsfor allowing a candidate to be an on-air personality unless someone complained about it.

"Depending on context and/or the station's efforts to address the unfairness produced by having a candidate as an on-air personality," a CRTCspokesperson stated in the email, "repercussions might attack further down the line, including consequences for the broadcaster's licence, or fines."