March 23, 2026 – for immediate release
The National NewsMedia Council (NNC) has dismissed a complaint about concerns over a conflict of interest presented in an August 20, 2025, opinion article published by The Globe and Mail.
The complainant, Mike Smith, filed a complaint with the NNC arguing that York University professor Steven Tufts, who wrote the piece under the headline “A big failure for Air Canada’s weak management. Are its days numbered?” was in an undisclosed conflict of interest.
The complainant argued that Tufts was not an “independent and balanced commentator” because he was a member of the same union (CUPE) that was involved in the labour dispute with Air Canada.
In support of his claim, the complainant noted the professor had previously signed public letters advocating on behalf of CUPE’s positions. As such, the complainant argued that Tufts’s history of union advocacy and published writings, which strongly supported organized labour, were not disclosed by the news organization to its readers.
The news organization responded to the complainant’s concerns by stating that the professor was considered to be a “subject matter expert” given his position as “a labour geographer” whose work “focuses on the geographies of work, workers, and organized labour.”
The news organization also clarified that the professor’s association with CUPE was via a different local than Air Canada flight attendants, and that he was not in a leadership position with the union at the time the article was published.
The complainant remained unsatisfied with the news organization’s explanation and requested the NNC take further action.
In reviewing the materials submitted, Council noted the article is appropriately labeled as ‘opinion’ and carries a short biographic description of the writer so that readers can properly understand their perspective.
In this case, the description read: “Steven Tufts is an associate professor in the faculty of environmental and urban change at York University.”
Council also considered journalistic standards and best practices around opinion writing to evaluate the complainant’s claims that “the writer has a direct and substantial interest in the outcome of the labour dispute being discussed.”
Given that the opinion writer is a researcher and labour economist, with a particular focus on organized labour, it is clear they would have an informed perspective on the issue at hand to share with readers.
Council also acknowledged the news organization providing readers with a short biography of the writer to contextualize their opinions.
In its deliberation, Council considered the impact of perceived versus real conflicts of interest. It also considered the important distinction between opinion writing and journalistic reporting.
Council supported the news organization’s view that simply holding union membership in this case did not involve a conflict or warrant a disclosure when writing about a separate union matter. As a professor, Tufts was actually represented by the York University Faculty Association, not CUPE. In this case, Council did not find grounds to support evidence of a conflict of interest that breached transparency, accuracy, or public trust.
At the same time, Council understood that the complainant wished to see more information about the opinion writer. Council recognized that there is limited space and capacity within the context of writer descriptions. For this reason, it is not generally required or possible to include all details about an opinion author’s affiliations, particularly where there is no clear link between such affiliations and the subject matter. That said, Council agreed that, in general, including further information about the author’s affiliations along with the structure of such organizations, such as noting the different locals of unions in this case, could be helpful for readers and dispel any perceived conflict.
As the NNC has previously stated, opinion columns are designed to provide readers with an argument that is grounded in fact. Readers are free to disagree with a column’s assertions, but such disagreement does not in itself indicate a breach of journalistic standards.
Columns, furthermore, are not universal decrees on how readers must think. Instead, they present analysis and criticism on factors society should think about when determining their own views on the subject at hand.
For these reasons, Council dismissed the complaint.