HALIFAX - A Halifax rock station says it will play an unedited version of "Money for Nothing" on repeat for a full hour today after the song was deemed unfit for Canadian radio because of a gay slur in its lyrics.
The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council ruled Wednesday that the Dire Straits hit violates the industry's code of ethics.
Q104's program director, J.C. Douglas, says the station is concerned with the precedent the decision sets, calling it a "tragic error in judgment" that puts the independent watchdog on "the slippery slope to censorship."
The station says members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community will be on hand for its marathon of the song, which Douglas notes is satirical in nature.
He says the council's decision could end up trivializing the work done by the LGBT community to further its cause "by creating a sense of excessive political correctness."
The "Money for Nothing" ban applies to every Canadian radio station.
But the council only takes action if there is a complaint, so if another station were to play the unedited version of the song, action would only be taken if a listener took up the cause again.
