Editorial Policy concerning election coverage

The campaign for the school board elections of November 4, 2007 is underway.

All election campaigns give journalists the privilege of being impartial witnesses to these exercises in democracy.

Courrier Laval Weekly News is committed to upholding fairness and objectivity in its coverage of the current election campaign. All information will be treated with the rigour elicited by the principles of journalistic practices of the Transcontinental Medias Newspaper Group and the code of ethics of the Quebec Federation of Professional Journalists (FPJQ).

Thus we will provide balanced coverage - with respect to frequency, page placement, and space allocated - of both Recognized Electoral Tickets - PARTNERS ACTIVELY COMMITTED TO EDUCATION (PACE) and PARTNERS FOR SUCCESS (PFS), as well as for all candidates, including independents.

During the election campaign, Courrier Laval Weekly News will not publish opinion pieces or letters to the editor written from a partisan perspective, and all press releases and communiqués of a campaign nature will be closely scrutinized.

The make-up of the front page, which is a reflection of the major events of the week, will continue to be the responsibility of the editors of Courrier Laval Weekly News, in whose hands rests the decision to place there the events considered most newsworthy for the period of time covered by that particular edition. The same principles of fairness and impartiality will be in effect for the front page.

Any public opinion polls conducted during the campaign will be treated with great diligence relative to methods used in arriving at the numbers reported.

Marie Eve Courchesne, Editor

John Fasciano, News Director

Courrier Laval Weekly News