CBC momentarily goes blank after apparent violation of elections law
Posted May 2, 2011 9:45 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The CBC was forced to pull the plug on its election-night broadcast — twice — after it apparently violated the Canada Elections Act.
The national broadcaster’s news channel suddenly went blank in Central Canada just after 9 p.m. ET, a half-hour before the polls closed there, as it was broadcasting early-evening results that were rolling in from Atlantic Canada.
On two occasions, scenes of the CBC election desk offering Atlantic results were interrupted with a message that said: “Sorry, we’re experiencing technical difficulties.” The network then went back to air with older highlights from the campaign.
A spokesman for the broadcaster called it a “garden-variety technical glitch.”
Wags on Twitter have been poking fun at the snafu, where even more mockery is being directed at Elections Canada for what some are calling an archaic law.
Users of sites like Twitter, along with the news media, have been warned not to post election results in areas of the country where the polls have not closed, to avoid influencing the vote.
