CMG applauds today’s announcement in Montreal by NDP leader Thomas Mulcair to cancel the $115-million cut to CBC funding made in 2012, and to reform how CBC Board members are appointed making the process transparent and non-partisan. The NDP also said it supports stable, multi-year funding for the national public broadcaster.

These tangible measures are consistent with the five major recommendations CMG has been urging all political parties to adopt so that CBC/Radio-Canada can continue to provide services and programming Canadians rely on in communities across the country:

1. Reverse the $115-million Deficit Reduction Action Plan (DRAP) cut to CBC

2. Increase CBC funding to about half the average of what other developed
countries invest in their public broadcaster or $43.5 per capita annually

3. Ask the CRTC to establish a fund that is dedicated to public service media programming

4. Repeal Clause 17 of omnibus budget bill C-60

5. Protect CBC/Radio-Canada’s independence by instituting a more public mechanism for selecting the national public broadcaster’s Board and CEO

As we recognize Mulcair for speaking out in a tangible way in support of Canada’s public broadcaster, we know there is a lot more to be done to achieve proper funding and true independence.

CMG continues to press all parties to increase CBC’s core funding, from the current $29 annually per Canadian to the industrialized countries’ average of  $43.50.

We also urge all parties to commit to removing the unprecedented clause introduced in 2013 (omnibus budget bill C-60) which allows government interference in CBC’s day-to-day operations, including journalistic work.

Watch for events organized by CMG and our allies in the coming weeks including concerts to rally public support for CBC in this election year in Moncton, Montreal, and on March 9 in Ottawa.
More information

Carmel Smyth, National President, CMG
Marc-Philippe Laurin, CMG President à CBC/Radio-Canada