The federal government’s new investment in the CBC/SRC announced in yesterday's budget is most welcome. It begins to turn the tide away from the previous government’s hostile agenda for public broadcasting.
“It also underscores the importance of Prime Minister Trudeau’s promise to work with the CBC and Canadians on a new strategic plan for our national public broadcaster that incorporates this new funding.
“Former Prime Minister Harper turned the CBC Board into a committee of Conservatives with his sharply partisan appointments. That Board should not be left to its own devices to make decisions about how to use this new investment.
“Currently, nine of eleven CBC Board members, including President and CEO Hubert Lacroix, are or have been financial contributors to the Conservative Party.
Former Prime Minister Harper made sure that his hostile influence over the CBC continues by stacking the CBC Board with Conservative directors, some of whose terms do not expire until 2024. These directors have set a path for the CBC that is taking it far from its public broadcasting purpose.
“We welcomed Prime Minister Trudeau’s September 22nd, 2024, campaign promise to reform the process of appointing CBC Board members and its President to ensure they are merit-based and independent. Today’s announcement makes fulfilling this promise urgent.”
Friends of Canadian Broadcasting is an independent watchdog for Canadian programming supported by 364,000 Canadian families.