MEDIA WATCH | CANADIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Attacks Volunteers Helping Their Communities

The CBC has chosen to avoid any shred of honest or responsible reporting in regard to these efforts of my church to help all in the face of global disaster. In your over-zealous haste to attack the religious beliefs of others, you have trampled on every single person in your own community who could benefit from truthful reporting and simple, neighborly help.

June 4, 2020

Ombudsman
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

Dear CBC,

Enough is enough!

As a broadcast media outlet, you have a unique opportunity to provide thousands of people with information that will help them live their lives more safely in spite of a worldwide pandemic.

With that opportunity comes responsibility: the responsibility to report accurately and competently.

Instead, you have chosen to irresponsibly target volunteer religious groups providing aid and assistance to their neighbors, insisting that their activities are something that should be avoided or scorned. By falsely accusing volunteers from my religion, Scientology, of striving to help their communities as a nefarious “strategy,” rather than the simple humanitarian aid that it is, you are abdicating that responsibility. Instead, you are actively working to keep the public in our communities in a state of fear, ignorance and hatred. The claims made in your article bear no relationship to the truth.

Here’s the truth about what you have falsely denounced:

The Church of Scientology, like all religions and all responsible citizens, is doing whatever it can to help people during these difficult times.
We have created three informational booklets, an entire online resource center scientology.org/staywell, and more than a dozen PSAs, all to raise awareness on illness prevention.
Our Church created a music video to uplift people in troubled times, and encourage them to help one another. It’s gone viral, with more than 10 million views on YouTube.
Our Church produced a full virtual concert with music legends and Grammy-winners from across the globe to uplift people and, again, raise awareness on illness prevention.
We have produced over 5 million educational booklets in 20 languages (including Gaelic and Zulu) to provide vital information to people during these times and are providing these to our neighbors to do our part to help everyone stay well.
Our Volunteer Ministers are passing out these booklets to businesses as well as homes. They are wearing attire that broadcasts they are Scientology Volunteer Ministers (VMs)—jumpsuits proudly emblazoned with the VM logo and jackets that read “Scientology Volunteer Ministers.” They are certainly not pretending to be anyone other than themselves.

These activities are public, not hidden. They are free of charge and available to not just your corner of Canada, but the entire world. They are happening not just in your neighborhood, but in every neighborhood on earth where well-intentioned, religious people are striving to help one another.

Shame on you. An immediate retraction, with apologies, is demanded.

Laurie Bartilson
STAND League