I do say it with a straight face. As I was saying to one of our colleagues this morning, the CBC is really not like any other business in the country.
I do not know why I am defending the CBC because it has never been particularly good to me or for that matter to any other politician. It is one of those rare situations where we are defending an organization that is constantly attacking us. That is what makes this country so interesting.
Mr. Speaker, you signalled that I have only a couple of minutes. As we head into this very sensitive period where once again we will all be required to make sure that in the interest of national unity we bring our best foot forward, I really feel that it is important that the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Radio-Canada-radio, television, Newsworld-have a solid footing and a solid organization. This is an institution, as I am sure most people in Canada would agree, that is probably the best binding agent we have in a communications instrument.
We hear from musicians in every region who might otherwise not get the opportunity to be heard on a national basis. As I mentioned earlier today in debate it is a high quality organization for communication and production. It is also a tremendous training ground.
This is one area where, when we analyse the balance sheet of the CBC, we have not given it proper credit. This has been an area where it has trained people who ultimately have gone on to produce on other TV networks and in the motion picture industry. They are high quality technicians. Many of them now are creating product that we are exporting around the world. It is giving us not only a presence in North America but a Canadian presence all over the world. For that reason I would urge all members to support this bill.