Mr. Speaker, I listened with interest to other government members talk about the importance of the CBC and what great friends they are of the CBC. With the government and its members having
introduced a budget that severely cuts the CBC, one could say that with friends like that who needs enemies.
I listened particularly to the member talk about the need to reform, the need for a new CBC and how the reform should take place in a co-operative way. I agree that there are new realities, modern realities and a need for change, but I would like to ask the member: Is the government not going at this a little backward?
Before introducing cuts and changes to the budget, it has to first think through where it wants to see the CBC end up. Everybody agrees that with the cuts the CBC cannot fulfil its legislative mandate.
Why has the government not first thought through what type of public broadcasting it wants before it introduced the cuts? Could government members explain what the CBC should be like with these cuts? What is the vision of the member and the government of a new "reformed CBC"?