There is no correct answer here. The answer is a function of where one believes we should be going and how we should do it.
I believe it's quite simplistic to argue simply that because the Prime Minister appoints the president, therefore there is political intervention and interference. It's the same thing as appointing a Supreme Court justice. It's the same thing as appointing a Federal Court justice. They're appointed by the Minister of Justice or the Prime Minister, and it doesn't mean that therefore the justice system has been corrupted. The evidence is exactly the opposite, and I would say the evidence is exactly the opposite in the case of the CBC. It's an absolute red herring to argue about that.
I can say that in my eight years, I have never had any suggestion of interference from a minister or from the Prime Minister, and I can say the same for my predecessors. They have not had any intervention or interference. The government may not like some of our programming. They may be concerned in general, especially when we're going through something like a referendum or something of that nature, but they have been very discreet and careful as a government. I say it's the maturity of the government system to respect the role of the public broadcaster and the independence of the public broadcaster.
Remember, my appointment--it's almost over--is what we call in government “for good behaviour”, the same as for a judge. It's not an “at pleasure” appointment. I cannot be fired, except through a joint motion of the House and the Senate. It's designed deliberately to ensure the independence of the broadcaster when there is a change of government, because we are such a major source of news in the country.
One might argue the reasons for the president to be appointed by the board, but the argument that has been made about intervention and interference just doesn't hold up when you look at the facts over the last 50 years. It doesn't hold up at all. The boards have tended to be mixed, in all fairness, in all candour, and they have tended to be much more partisan or political than has the president. The president, whoever he has been in the past, has tended to wear the hat as a judge would. This is a unique job. It's a wonderful job. It's a tough job and one in which you feel every day the uniqueness of protecting the independence of the public broadcaster, because you know how dangerous and how fragile a plant this is.
Boards are quite different. Boards are very short-term. They can be or they are a gift of the minister or a gift of the government. Sometimes boards are excellent. Sometimes they are not that good. They tend to be, with all due respect, quite partisan, and unlike in the case of the BBC, which is the model people look at in which the board appoints the president but does not appoint the chair--the chair is appointed by the government.... If you look at the quality of the people on the board, they are the most exalted people in British society. The quality of people who go onto that board is very distinct, and for them to call the shots might be very different from the situation in our case, where we have a different tradition.