High-level Resignation from Al-Jazeera International; Network Targets Canadian Muslims   August 12, 2006

Britain’s Independent newspaper reports that Paul Gibbs, Al-Jazeera International’s director of programs, has resigned after differences of opinion with management.

Meanwhile, the Canadian Jewish News reports that, “Quebec-based Vidéotron Ltée. says its cable company would seriously consider carrying al-Jazeera’s nascent 24-hour English-language international new channel – al-Jazeera International (AJI) – if the channel gets the go-ahead from the CRTC” – the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.  One reason for Vidéotron’s receptiveness to AJI “is the growing Muslim population in Quebec,” the paper reported.

Reporter David Lazarus added, “Two years ago, the CRTC approved a broadcast licence for the Arabic-language al-Jazeera, but the station never made it to Canadian households via domestic cable and satellite carriers because the CRTC stipulated that they would have to monitor its feed 24 hours a day and could even censor portions deemed unsuitable for broadcast.

“That effectively made it untenable for cable and satellite companies to carry al-Jazeera. It’s unknown, at this point, whether the CRTC might apply similar conditions on AJI.”