Mr. Speaker, I am glad the member asked that question. I did not get to it in my speech, but I thank my hon. colleague from northern Ontario for his question. Here is the reason.
When I sat on the heritage committee several years ago, we had Mr. Rabinovich before the committee. One of the things the CBC did, something that I thought was detrimental to regional areas, was cut the dinner-hour newscast from one hour to half an hour. It was detrimental in some markets, but the problem was that it was one decision for all regions across the country.
I absolutely agree with the member in that particular respect. Not only is it a reflection of one particular region that has to hear from itself, but the CBC also allows someone like me or someone in northern Ontario or central Newfoundland to learn about things like organ building in Quebec or modes of transportation in Nunavut. Those are the ties that bind in this particular situation.
Do I support single-year funding? Yes, I do. As a matter of fact, I will go one step further. I would also like to say that we need for the CBC a model developed by the BBC in England, a seven-year funding plan that allows it to make capital investments beyond what it has right now. It allows development of programming and culture within the country. If we want to be that cultural mix and provide a sounding board for the whole country, then that multi-year funding has to be done.
It was a $60 million one-off. It should be $60 million per year, but on a multi-year basis so that the people of the CBC can--