This is an appeal against a decision by a Commissioner that a broadcast was not in contravention of the Code. The Appellant did not comply with the Procedure of the BCCSA by not filing grounds of appeal. He merely repeated his original grounds of complaint and added a new ground based on clause 15 of the Code. Adding another ground, not decided upon in the first instance, not allowed in the appeal process. In fairness to Appellant the Tribunal considered the adjudication by the Commissioner and stressed that every complaint should be judged in context. The jocular and light-hearted manner in which comments were made about cultural practices relating to funerals of the different racial and ethnic groups placed this discussion outside the ambit of hate speech. The comments were also made on facts truly stated or fairly indicated and referred to. The Tribunal found that the Commissioner was correct in her finding that there was no contravention of the Code and the appeal was not upheld.
