Mr. Speaker, the CBC is on the verge of massive cuts to the service that it provides Canadians in every corner of our country, but these cuts are avoidable because the CBC has a reasonable plan for addressing this crisis through bridge financing.
Now the minister claims he was never approached for bridge financing, but this is not true. He was asked directly and he said “no”. Jobs are on the chopping block in Thunder Bay, Sudbury, Sydney and elsewhere across the country.
Why has the minister put the future of public broadcasting and local programming at risk by refusing CBC's request for bridge financing?