As you know, I don't comment on political matters.
All I can say is that defunding the CBC would mean denying 80% of the population local news. It would be denying thousands of independent producers, creators, musicians and authors their livelihoods.
We can criticize how, in the last year, CBC/Radio-Canada had to lay off 141 people. It was very tough. Let us not forget that defunding the CBC represents, at a minimum, laying off 3,500 people at this corporation, plus the thousands of musicians, artists, performers, producers and sound technicians, etc., who depend on CBC/Radio-Canada.
Defunding the CBC would be denying French language minority communities from their lifeline to le fait français. Defunding the CBC would be denying the right of communities and indigenous communities across the north to hear their news in their language and connect with the south. It would deny the south the ability to learn about the north.
To me, it is absolutely without reason. When you ask me what the reason is, I say to myself that there is no common-sense reason for eliminating CBC. In fact, I ask myself the question, “Why?” This organization, this Crown corporation, was created by Parliament. Why would parliamentarians want to undo this Crown corporation that has existed for 90 years? If they have a problem with how we execute on our mandate, let's fix the problem.
We talk to Canadians every day. It's why we launched a show like Cost of Living out of Calgary. It was because we knew we needed more local shows in the regions. It's why we've launched local podcasts across the country and local FAST channels across the country. It's why we're hiring more journalists in the west.
We do not see defunding the CBC as a solution. We see that as making Canada worse, not better.