Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak to the motion put forward by the hon. member for Yukon. The purpose of this motion is to exempt the CBC Northern Service from the CBC cuts.
These cuts became necessary when the government decided to reduce the CBC's overall parliamentary vote by $127 million in 1996-97.
Members will recall that these cuts came on top of the $227 million in reductions imposed on the CBC by the Liberal government since it took office. These reductions of $350 million in the CBC budget, imposed by the Liberal government, will mean the loss of 4,000 jobs, jobs that will disappear because of these huge cuts.
The official opposition, the Bloc Quebecois, has always been very strongly opposed to large cuts in the CBC's funding. Since our arrival in Ottawa, we have reminded the government time and again of the promises it made in its own red book regarding vitality and funding. They promised not only to recognize our major institutions, such as the CBC, the National Film Board and Telefilm Canada, but to ensure their funding. The Bloc Quebecois has always urged the government to keep its promises.
As for the proposal made by the member for Yukon, the principle is a fundamental one. If it were to be voted on, I would expand on it and say that the whole network should be exempted from the cuts, not just the CBC Northern Service. Let us not forget that $350 million in cuts and 4,000 in lost jobs are at stake.
We are in agreement with the principle of the motion put forward by the member for Yukon, but the government must realize that it is hurting not just communities in the Yukon, but francophone communities throughout Canada.
Remember that, in northern Canada, the CBC and its 145 employees provide 220 hours of television and radio programming in eight native languages to an audience of 100,000. Under the latest cuts imposed on the CBC Northern Service, the present television budget of $14 million will be reduced by 30 to 40 per cent and radio service will be reduced by 30 per cent.
With respect to French services, remember that this government has made cuts of $70 million, including $20 million to radio. The cuts imposed on CBC radio are tragic for Canada's francophone communities, since what they are experiencing is not a reduction in service, but the outright closing of their stations, and in other cases considerably reduced services.
I would like to refer to the press release sent by the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada when the cuts at CBC Radio were announced. The federation said that the federal government and the CBC were abandoning Francophone and Acadian communities. That is how they reacted.
In responding to the cuts announced by Perrin Beatty and Ghyslaine Saucier, chairperson of the CBC's board of directors, the federation said in its press release that this decision was tantamount to destroying a tool that was central to the development of our communities. Ms. Copps should have invested the money in the CBC instead of a flag campaign.
For many Francophone and Acadian communities, CBC regional programming is the only medium that reflects their community and culture in their own language. With these budget cuts, the federal government is sending a devastating message. In spite of its high-sounding commitments, it is abandoning the development of a thriving Francophone and Acadian community in this country. When will Mr. Chrétien and Ms. Copps understand the importance-