But I'm not even finished making my notes yet....
That's okay. Thank you, sir.
My name is Barbara Saunders. I'm a resident of Yellowknife. I've come out tonight because I am a lifer with CBC. My son was raised on CBC. I'm familiar with Don Herron, Peter Gzowski, Shelagh Rogers, etc.
I have witnessed and often protested the erosion in Canadian society of our peacekeeper reputation, of our universal health care system, of our transportation, of particularly the Canada-wide railways. I have seen the erosion of the political will for a society that values gender equity.
I see that CBC has managed to keep clear, for the most part, on these entities that make us a country. However, I will say that I have been hearing on CBC more experts from the United States, invited by the CBC to testify on various issues, than I have heard in the past. I question that, and I worry about that. I see that as further integration into the United States' ideologies and politics. That scares me.
In the north I see CBC as a very important entity. I'm very disappointed not to see CBC television cameras here tonight. I question why they're not here.
I also question any thought of lack of CBC services. Particularly in the north, CBC is considered a lifeline. It is considered a lifeline for all of our cultures. When you listen to CBC in the morning, you understand that the Gwich'in in Inuvik or in Tuktoyaktuk or the Sahtu peoples of Deline are listening, because they call in on the contest shows and some will speak their language.
We are fortunate to have the ability to hear the languages. Even though I do not speak or understand any of them, I enjoy listening to them--especially when my name pops up amongst it all.
Anyway, I respect it very much. I respect the fact that CBC is the main entity that keeps Canadian society and culture alive. What would we do without Canada Reads? What would we do without the stories that CBC brings to us, Canadian stories that bind us together, that we can rely on, that people across the country listen to and share?
When we talk about technologies, I would consider myself in many ways a Luddite. I do not have the technical ability to understand all of it. However, I am part of a major population: I am a baby boomer. You will understand that many baby boomers listen to CBC and watch CBC and respect CBC. Should you erase or change or erode any aspect of CBC radio or TV, we will be out in full force--and we are many.
I respect the technical knowledge of our youth and their iPods and everything else they have. When you talk about Sirius CBC, which Mr. Shaw was talking about, and about our going often to the Internet for the news, I will challenge that. I believe the majority of Canadians rely on radio and television for their news, not the Internet. I believe we are still a majority there.
I can't give you scientific facts, but I can tell you that we have to understand the different means of listening, of learning, across our country. Not all of us have the ability to understand the technology before us. And not only that, we must understand that the spoken word is far more powerful than any other technologies that I've seen to date for stories, for information sharing--or for “knowledge transfer”, as I believe the government likes to refer to it.
If anything, CBC must remain a public domain. It must be fully costed. We cannot afford to lose any of that. Any thought of selling even a share of it will erode what I see as the last entity of Canadian people speaking together.
Thank you. That's all I have to say.