Canadian TV short of Indigenous people

The portrayal of Canada’s diversity on television has improved over the last decade, but there’s still a lack of programming representing people with disabilities and the Indigenous population in particular, according to a research report prepared for the country’s TV regulator.

The findings were provided to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission in March but were only released last week on the government’s public opinion and polling database.

The report, based on questions posed to a half-dozen focus group sessions in mid-January, found there was a “widespread impression” among participants that Canada’s broadcasters have improved their portrayal of certain segments of the population in their programming. But near equal numbers indicated that, compared with visible minorities, women and members of the LGBTQ community, they saw fewer TV shows portraying Indigenous people and the disabled.

Even when Indigenous Canadians appeared in programs, they weren’t seen in the best light.

“There was a widespread impression that depictions of Indigenous peoples tend to be stereotypical (e.g. depicted as poor, alcoholic, sniffing glue or gas).”

Participants also found very few characters or personalities with disabilities in Canadian programming but, unlike the Indigenous segment, they found that when people with disabilities were depicted they tended to be positively portrayed.