Good morning, honourable members and Madam Chair. Thank you for inviting me to speak.
I want to start by making my position perfectly clear. In my opinion, the CBC/Radio-Canada has no right to block freedom of information requests that refer to the financial operations of their corporation. It seems obvious to me that when a corporation accepts millions of dollars from public finances, it is incumbent on them to be completely transparent on the use of those funds.
It is furthermore hypocritical for a corporation with a news operation that is a major user of data received from freedom of information requests, an entity that in fact complains bitterly when freedom of information requests are denied, to deny the same access they demand of others.
I do not agree with the CBC when they claim that releasing such information will put them at a competitive disadvantage. The idea seems ludicrous to me. Many people at CTV and Global, for example, once worked for CBC, and vice versa, many CBC employees once worked at CTV and Global. The idea is beyond silly that they don't know how the others work. The cross-pollination in Canadian broadcasting means that all the networks know how everyone else does their jobs and all the networks work and spend in similar ways.
The real reason CBC does not want to open their books is the fear that some of the mistakes and misspending that will ultimately be revealed will result in bad publicity and even ridicule from those who are determined to harm the public broadcaster.
I'm afraid this is a real fear. There have always been political and broadcast business opponents who have had no qualms about sticking it to the CBC by taking mistakes out of context and blowing up the importance of minor misspending. Today, the anti-CBC hysteria has reached epidemic proportions. The news on TV channels shows a prime example of people who show no compunction in using distorted data and widely exaggerated claims to discredit the CBC. Members of Parliament have also been known to attack the CBC without taking the time to understand what they are criticizing and the fairness of the complaints.
Putting all of that aside, I still believe the CBC has to open its books. If they don't like the way they are read or interpreted by others, it's their duty to explain to the public that pays them and not hide from them.
However—and it's a big however—I feel I must make another point that is tangential but pertinent to what we are doing here. It seems amazing to me that members of Parliament or any politician from any level of government would take CBC to task for stonewalling the public. Are there any institutions that attempt to bury their mistakes more than governments do?
One example is this, if you'd permit me. How long have Canadians, both private and in the media, been trying to find out how close to $1 billion was spent on the G-8 and G-20 meetings last summer? In question period we're witnesses to the spectacle of a minister refusing to answer questions on he spent the $50 million allocated to the summits.
The CBC's hypocrisy is matched and raised every day by federal, provincial, regional, and urban governments. My suspicion is that government secrecy is carried out for the very same purpose that our public broadcaster is hiding behind its excuses: If the opposition, the media, and the public were privy to the blunders and some of the misspending, it could be a source of tremendous embarrassment to the people who control the purse strings of the nation.
Yes, the CBC should open its books. I hope the courts force the issue and rule against the CBC.
It's also time for all Canadians to demand the same level of transparency from government that some members of Parliament are demanding from the CBC. When I worked for CBC, CTV, and Global, it was not uncommon to hear my colleagues talk about having to go to Washington to find out what was happening in Ottawa. Canadian government levels of secrecy are out of control and do not make a lot of sense when considering our economic, political, and strategic place in the world.
I believe one of the best ways to force the CBC and governments of Canada to clean up their acts would be to let the public know where the waste and the misspending occur. Once the people of Canada see the errors, those in power will be forced to fix their mistakes or be punished with the loss of their jobs or worse. Most Canadians understand that in corporations as large as the CBC and within political entities as large as the federal, provincial, and urban governments mistakes and errors in judgment will be made. Canadians are willing to forgive the ones who own up to their mistakes and quickly fix the problems. It is the cover-ups and the secrecy that inevitably turn a simple error into a scandal.
So let me sum up. Yes, the CBC should have to open its books. But it seems to me a little unseemly to have the pot calling the kettle black.
Thank you for hearing me out.