Thank you, Mr. Chair and members of the committee.
My name is Marc-Philippe Laurin and I am President of the CBC Branch of the Canadian Media Guild. We represent the people who work for CBC/Radio-Canada across Canada, with the exception of Quebec.
I'm joined by guild member, Bob Carty, a long-time CBC radio producer and investigative journalist, who's also a member of the board of Canadian Journalists For Free Expression. The Canadian Media Guild represents 6,000 media workers across Canada at 10 different media outlets.
The guild has long supported a robust system to ensure access to information. We respect the fact that the CBC, as a recipient of public funds, has serious responsibilities for accountability under the access to information system, but it also has other obligations that are equally serious. It must fulfill its mandate from Parliament while maintaining a true arm's-length relationship with the government of the day. It must conduct its journalism with integrity and complete editorial freedom, and it is responsible for the protection of its confidential sources.
We feel that Bill C-461 would adversely affect CBC/Radio-Canada journalists. The new provisions being proposed would undermine their integrity and capacity to protect their sources. For this reason, we urge the committee to recommend that Parliament take no further measures regarding this bill. In the absence of such a recommendation, we ask that Parliament vote against Bill C-461. The bill is beyond repair, even with amendments.
Bill C-461 places demands on CBC/Radio-Canada newsrooms that do not exist for any other news organization in this country. In doing so, it puts CBC at a disadvantage compared to its competitors, undermines its ability to do journalism, and as a result, to inform the public.
As we noted in our brief, the bill would actually undo the clarity brought to the existing legislation by the Federal Court of Appeal in 2011. Since that court decision, we understand that CBC and the Information Commissioner have been successfully resolving outstanding complaints without friction or disputes. The lack of clarity in the bill's exemption would certainly be the subject of new court cases for years to come, and much of that at the public's expense.
In the meantime, the door would be open for access applicants to get a hold of information about CBC's confidential sources and news investigations. This would harm the public broadcaster's reputation as a trustworthy recipient of confidential information from whistle-blowers and sources. It would allow others, including competitors, to find out inside information about how CBC is pursuing stories, information that no other news organization in the country is obliged to share with anyone.
Bob Carty is here today to further explain how these provisions would hurt CBC news operations.