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As the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks approaches next month, CBC has instructed staff to stop describing the events as terror attacks. Instead, they instructed journalists and editors to refer to the attacks as “hijackings that led to passenger jet crashes."

According to an internal memo, CBC's senior director of journalistic standards and public trust, Basem Boshra, told staff to use this softer language when referring to 9/11. Boshra previously worked at the Montreal Gazette and CTV News.

The CBC executive appears to be no stranger to controversy. In 2019, while serving as news director at the Montreal Gazette, Boshra reportedly deleted his Twitter account after writing that People's Party of Canada leader Maxime Bernier's party was becoming the "White People's Party of Canada."

We’re calling for CBC’s Basem Boshra to be fired after reporters were told not to call 9/11 a “terrorist attack.”

REPORT by @ScarlettGrace92: https://t.co/FailvkQt7L

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) August 27, 2026

Bernier called the remark false, intolerant and offensive, and questioned whether Gazette management believed racial quotas at political rallies were necessary. Boshra later apologized, though the apology was difficult to verify after his account was deleted. CBC had previously reported on the controversy before later hiring Boshra into the role overseeing journalistic standards.

The recent memo has also drawn attention from U.S. lawmakers. House Republicans have publicly questioned why Canada's public broadcaster would soften language while describing the deadliest attack on American soil, particularly amid ongoing trade tensions between Canada and the United States. Fox News host Laura Ingraham also weighed in on social media.

Critics say the change in terminology mirrors past instances in which CBC has been accused of softening language around sensitive topics, including "safe supply" and "gender-affirming care."