That's the difference between a state broadcaster and a public broadcaster with an arm's-length relationship.
France used to have a state broadcaster, where the government and the broadcaster were working hand-in-hand. And Russia has it now. That's not what we're talking about in Canada. We're talking about a situation where presumably there is an arm's-length relationship, where there is a separate board, etc., etc.
Certainly there have been historic moments in Canada--and John Diefenbaker was involved in one--when the Prime Minister phoned up people in the CBC and said “I'm very upset with such-and-such a program”, and the CBC presidents worth their salt said “Go to hell”. That's probably why the CBC has been underfunded.
But we're talking about a public broadcaster with an arm's-length relationship and checks and balances to make sure.... You know, you do the news this way and you get money and you do the news some other way and you don't get money. But we have a tradition, I think, of public broadcasting, and hopefully every president of the CBC would have that attitude, at least the ones who talk about it. There are some who talk about it and some who don't, but that's another story. Some time when we're at a bar, I'll talk to you about it.