Le Devoir loses embargoed access for three months after breaking CIHI embargo
For the second time in less than two months, the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) has sanctioned a news organization for breaking one of its embargoes.
In December, the QMI Agency, publisher of the Sun newspapers, earned a six-month suspension. Last Thursday, the subject of this email was Le Devoir, a French-language newspaper out of Montreal, CIHI tells Embargo Watch:
This email is to inform you that there has been a breach of the Canadian Institute for Health Information’s embargo policy. Information from Hospital Care for Heart Attacks Among First Nations, Inuit and Métis, due to be released at 3:00 pm ET today may now be published. The media advisory, report and fact sheets are attached. The information is also available at www.cihi.ca, and we are happy to participate in interviews.
As per our policy, the outlet in breach of the agreement will face immediate sanctions. Its embargo privileges have been revoked for three months. Our embargo policy is clear: no breach will be tolerated, regardless of whether it was intentional or not.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me or media@cihi.ca.
We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.
I’ve argued before that embargo policy consistency should extend to sanctions. CIHI seems quite consistent; QMI got six months rather than three because it was not their first offense. The information agency told me that they’re “reviewing our media embargo in response to the breach.”
Hat tip: Andre Picard
