The haste with which the opposition parties wish to overthrow the government and call elections obscures the immediate future on this subject. It becomes unlikely that a bill can be presented and adopted in time.
As Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, whose party dominates in voting intentions according to polls, sticks to his promise to reduce funding for the CBC, the very existence of the public broadcaster could become an issue in the next election campaign.
Peter Menzies of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute predicts that “the CBC will find itself in a very difficult position covering the election campaign in which it could be an important issue.”
Sara Andrews, director of government and media relations for the group Friends of Canadian Media, also believes that the future of the public broadcaster will be a “big issue” for Canadians.
“We are talking about the very existence of the CBC,” she said. For some people, it carries as much Canadian identity as maple syrup and beaver. It is fundamental to our identity.”
The Conservatives have not revealed the terms of their program regarding the elimination of funding for the CBC/-. The party, however, promises to keep funding for -’s French news service at its current level.
The Conservative spokesperson for Canadian heritage, Damien Kurek, judges that the CBC is nothing more than a propaganda machine that no longer works. He promises to transform the state company’s head office into housing.
In 2023-2024, CBC/- received $1.44 billion from the federal government. Its revenues were $493.5 million.
Mr. Menzies believes the Conservative promise to cut funding to the CBC is aimed at the party’s base. “It stipulates their supporters, it stimulates the party’s fundraising campaigns,” he said.
However, it is not certain whether this message is well received by the electorate in general.
Polls conducted by the Center for Media, Technology and Democracy at McGill University indicate that a majority of Canadians, including Conservative voters, want to maintain the existence of the CBC. For example, only 11% of respondents in a survey conducted at the end of August and the beginning of September wanted to eliminate funding for the crown corporation.
“Promising to cut funding in an electoral platform is an ideological decision. This is a position that they will have to defend in front of the country,” underlines Jessica Johnson, of the Center for Media, Technology and Democracy at McGill University.
SEE ALSO | Affordable housing: what is happening with the old - tower?
But, if a majority of Canadians do not want radical changes to the management of the public broadcaster, they hope for improvements.
“They want him to do a better job of what he’s supposed to do,” Ms. Johnson adds.
According to critics of the Conservative position, it would be difficult to distinguish the CBC and -, because the two often share the same resources.
Appearing before a parliamentary committee in November, the new CEO of the CBC/-, Marie-Philippe Bouchard, declared that the two services were extremely intertwined. “All support services outside Quebec are provided by English services, in fact. Without these support services, there is no service,” she said.
The mandate of the public broadcaster is enshrined in the Broadcasting Act. We can read there that it must “offer broadcasting services which include very broad programming which informs, enlightens and entertains”.
Monica Auer, executive director of the Forum for Research and Policy in Communications, says the law only recognizes the existence of the CBC/-.
“If the entity is completely deprived of funding, it technically exists, it can no longer operate,” she mentions.
A recent report from the standing committee on Canadian Heritage stated that cutting funding for CBC/- would lead to a large number of job losses. He also mentioned that the public broadcaster was often the only media outlet to offer a news service in places where citizens would not otherwise have access to local and regional news.
Conservative members of the committee disagreed and demanded an end to funding the CBC.
In a statement, the spokesperson for the Minister of Heritage, Pascale St-Onge, said that she “has been working closely for several months with experts, Canadians and her caucus colleagues to adopt new policies for the CBC /-. She hopes to say more on the subject at an appropriate time.”
According to Mr. Menzies, the Liberal government “may have missed an opportunity” by not giving a new mandate to the CBC/-. This could create problems for Ms. Bouchard who has only been in office since January 3.
“She may have her own vision, but I doubt she will be able to express it to her staff, unless she gets a new mandate. Which might not happen. It’s like left in suspense.”
Related News :