Thank you very much.
Yesterday the Minister of Finance appeared before the committee, and I quoted excerpts from the letter we received from Hubert Lacroix, the president of CBC, where essentially he threatens to sue the government if the budget bill, Bill C-60, passes as is.
In that letter, he said that the budget bill “would reduce the independence that is critical to our operation”, and went on to say this:
This could potentially embroil the government, our Corporation, and its unions in litigation, a result that could be avoided with an amendment that protects that independence.
At the committee meeting, I simply asked the minister this:
Would you support an amendment to your budget bill that protects the independence of the CBC and avoids a court battle between the government and the CBC?
The minister responded:
The CBC may think it's a special...part of a crown agency.... This is wrong. All crown agencies have a responsibility through ministers back to Parliament and to the people of Canada.
Would you agree or disagree with the minister that the CBC is distinct from other crown corporations?