Well, not in an interruptive manner.
The CBC took taxpayer dollars and used that money to spread misinformation or to tell an outright lie. They used taxpayer money to be the mouthpiece for a terrorist organization known as “Hamas” and that is despicable, and for the members opposite to try to excuse that is even more deplorable. It was irresponsible storytelling at best and outright advocacy on behalf of a terrorist organization at worst. Again, Canadian taxpayer dollars being used for these purposes....
It was damaging to the Israeli people, it was damaging to Canadians, it was damaging to the relationship Canadians have with their journalists, and it was damaging to journalists themselves, because there are good journalists who are doing good work who are waiting to get the facts and to report them accurately. When the CBC doesn't do that, it causes distrust among the Canadian public at large, and if you don't have trust, you don't have credibility.
Without that, how are Canadians supposed to be able to know that what they're getting is accurate? How are they supposed to be able to trust the news that is coming their way if reporters or broadcasters like the CBC don't take the time and put in the energy and exercise the care or the discretion to get things right?
The motion I am moving at this committee is this:
Given that,
Hamas has been a declared terrorist organization by the Government of Canada since 2002, and
The horrific Hamas terrorist attack against Israel left thousands of innocent people dead and injured, and
That an email directive sent from the Director of Journalistic Standards of CBC News, Mr. George Achi, to all employees of CBC News, directed them to downplay coverage of the horrific, sadistic, violence perpetrated by Hamas against innocent people in Israel by not referring to the attackers as terrorists, and to falsely claim that Gaza continued to be under occupation after Israel had pulled out in 2005,
The CBC receives $1.4 billion in public funding through taxpayer dollars annually, and that this committee has a mandate to review Government expenditures,
The Committee:
a) Denounce Mr. Achi's comments and report this to the House
b) Summon the President of the CBC, Catherine Tait, to appear for 2 hours by herself within seven days of the motion being adopted,
c) Summon the CBC Director of Journalistic Standards, George Achi, to appear for 2 hours by himself within seven days of the motion being adopted,
d) Invite the CBC ombudsman, Mr. Jack Nagler, to appear for a minimum of 2 hours to address the CBC's position on Journalistic Standards and Practices.
That last point around journalistic standards and practices is so important, because, again, not only did the leadership at CBC gave a directive to refrain from calling Hamas a terrorist organization, which it is officially declared to be under law in Canada, but the CBC also published a story that put blame on Israel for the blast that took place at a hospital, and this was wrong. It was a lie. It was false information the CBC received directly from Hamas, a terrorist organization.