LISTUGUJ, QC: The Listuguj Mi’gmaq Government is aware of two articles that have recently been published by journalists at TVA Nouvelles CIMT CHAU. The articles are titled:

• Listuguj: elle abandonne ses bambins pour aller faire la fête (Listuguj: she abandons her toddlers to go party) written by Patrick Giguere.
• Listuguj : la parade de Noël remise à lundi soir pour des raisons nébuleuses (Listuguj: the Christmas parade postponed to Monday evening for nebulous reasons) written by Louis-Philippe Morin.

The two articles listed above were produced without the Listuguj Mi’gmaq Government’s knowledge and were written with very little factual information from reputable sources in the community.  The information presented in these articles was a mixture of comments from non-community members and rumors found on social media and contains no plausible research. We thrive on honesty and respect in Listuguj, which neither of these articles depicts.

One of the articles mentioned above was initially published identifying the subject’s ethnic origin, and accessorily, of the children. This is racist, unacceptable, and contrary to the Charter of Rights.

The articles that have been published by TVA Nouvelles CIMT CHAU have been painting Listuguj in a negative light through unprofessional tactics.  We would expect the media to hold themselves to higher standards than what Listuguj has been receiving as of late from this media outlet.

We have also reached out to other First Nations communities who deal with TVA Nouvelles CIMT CHAU and their experience is similar to ours.

“I have had issues with a reporter whom works for CHAU TV, the reporter is very quick on getting negative news out to the general population and shows up within the community without going through the proper channels. He will often report false information…” – Director of Communications for Gesgapegiag.

“When things like this happen, it makes maintaining a positive working relationship with media very difficult.  We hope that moving forward we will see a better quality of reporting when it comes to Listuguj” – Chief Scott Martin

At this time, the Listuguj Mi’gmaq Government is asking that representatives and journalists from TVA Nouvelles CIMT CHAU respect the community and work to retrieve credible information on incidents with permission from our Executive Office, Chief, and Council. The community would also appreciate an apology from this media outlet, regarding the painful, untrustworthy articles that were produced.  If this request is not followed by TVA Nouvelles CIMT CHAU, the Listuguj Mi’gmaq Government will consider its options of making formal complaints.