We don't have that. You know, broadcasters complained about having the CBC use their taxes to compete against them for years, and we saw that when I was at the CRTC, but it was okay, because everybody was still making money then. Everybody was still making lots of money, so it didn't happen so much.
In 2016, this committee heard from a number of newspaper publishers. I recall distinctly The Globe and Mail's presentation, in which they encouraged the committee to have the CBC not expand its online business because that was...I think The Globe and Mail described the CBC as their greatest private sector competitor in that area.
I'm not personally opposed to the idea of there being a public broadcaster and there being a good public broadcaster. I saw for myself, when I was the Alberta and the Northwest Territories commissioner, the value that CBC North added to very remote regions and small, what I think are described these days as news deserts. I'm not opposed to that at all.
What I am opposed to is this unlevel playing field that is before the media industry. Notwithstanding all the issues with big tech and all those other things, as Ms. Radsch said, we need a diversity of sources of revenue for media not just to be independent, but to be seen to be independent. As long as the CBC is unbalancing the playing field, we're not going to be able to get there.
Therefore, I'm asking this committee and its members to really take that message forward. Can we please get the playing field level? Then we can have a good discussion about the multiple things we need to do to make journalism flourish again in this country.