CBC breaks the publication ban

Via Nealenews, the gag order in effect last night was broken by none other than the CBC. A media blackout that makes it illegal to publish early election tallies wasn't enough to stop the CBC from broadcasting results for all the world to hear more than two hours before all polls were closed. Anyone who tuned into the Radio Canada International radio feed last night got a sneak peek at election results from Atlantic Canada. It didn't take long for bloggers, who were busy trolling the Internet as they waited for the ban to be lifted, to figure out that it was possible to get an early play-by-play of the election results. "It appears the CBC is breaking its own election ban," wrote a blogger called Londoner at www.smalldeadanimals.com. By 7:30 p.m. ET, a full two hours before it was legal to publish results, the CBC declared four Liberals had been re-elected and three Conservatives were in the lead. [..] The hosts interviewed a jubilant Liberal Gerry Byrne, who was re-elected in Humber-St. Barbe-Baie Verte. "I'm feeling great; I've got the energy of a great group of volunteers," Mr. Byrne declared at about 7:40 p.m. "I'm tired, but I'm pumped." The broadcast feed stopped suddenly just before 8 p.m. ET. No, I regret to say it was not a member of the London Fog who exposed the CBC. How will Elections Canada deal with this corrupt public corporation? Who should be arrested and who jailed? Public ownership implies collective responsibility, so all should pay the price for such deviance. Paul Martin should stick around to investigate. If Elections Canada were really interested in enforcing this archaic law, why not suspend the release of the poll results locally? I suppose internet filters like they have in China are more appealing.