I would put it this way. The statutory basis for the CBC's independence enables collective bargaining that creates conditions of work that defend the autonomy of journalists. For example, a journalist cannot be pulled off a story without a reason. Producers have the right to refuse to produce something if for some reason they feel they're being pressured.
There is a whole range of examples—you'll find the list contained in the letter to the Prime Minister that has been circulated this morning—which is the practical expression of journalistic independence. The threat to that is if the government of the day, controlling a Treasury Board employee, gets into the position of approving such matters, there's a danger of interference and a collapse of the whole basis of the independence.