Debates of March 31st, 2009

Opposition Motion—CBC/Radio-Canada

[Claude Gravelle, NDP, Nickel Belt, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is very easy for the government to blame the Liberals and vice versa. I would like a simple answer. The government is helping the auto industry, Canwest and Global, all private enterprises, but it is refusing to help CBC/Radio-Canada, a corporation that belongs to the people of Canada.

So, I would like to know why the Conservative government is not planning to help this Canadian industry during this recession.

[Sylvie Boucher, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we took concrete action by giving CBC/Radio-Canada $1.1 billion in addition to $60 million for next year. We passed a budget even though the NDP voted against these measures to help CBC/Radio-Canada.

We are not the ones who hung CBC/Radio-Canada out to dry. They are.

[Judy Sgro, Liberal, York West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, there have been many comments about the ideology of the Conservatives and whether or not they believe there should be a public broadcaster, given the kind of action from the government on the need for us to ensure that CBC Radio-Canada especially is able to reach out to the thousands of people who rely on CBC Radio to know what is going on in the world.

The issue comes down to the ideology of believing whether or not we should have the CBC, period. It certainly raises concerns in the public as to whether or not that is the direction of the Conservative government. Is it going to continue to support the CBC and if not, why does it not supply the bridge loan the CBC requires today?

[Sylvie Boucher, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, we believe in Radio-Canada and the CBC. I would like to point out to the member opposite that it was not our leader who made jokes at CBC/Radio-Canada's expense. It was his former leader, Jean Chrétien, who said that nobody would hit the streets in protest if CBC/Radio-Canada were shut down.

We on this side of the House believe in CBC/Radio-Canada and are helping the corporation.

[Dean Del Mastro, Conservative, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage]

Mr. Speaker, I want to compliment this member on her outstanding speech. The member has been a part of this government since 2006 and she well knows we have increased the funding to the CBC in 2006, 2007, 2008 and budget 2009.

Could she comment more on the cuts that occurred under the previous Liberal government despite promising to provide stable funding to the CBC? Could she comment on the cuts to the CBC, the $414 million and the 4,000 jobs that were lost under Prime Minister Jean Chrétien? Could she talk about how that impacted Quebec?

[Sylvie Boucher, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Mr. Speaker, despite the economic recession we are going through right now—as we are all aware—we on this side of the House have maintained the corporation's funding and given it $1 billion. The member's party opposite cut 4,000 jobs even though there was no economic crisis at the time.

[An hon. member]

Shame!

[Sylvie Boucher, Conservative, Beauport—Limoilou, QC]

Shame!

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Lévis—Bellechasse, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate my colleague from Beauport—Limoilou not only for her speech, but also for having risen here in this House at an extremely important moment when we have voted to increase the budgets of CBC/Radio-Canada, bringing its funding to a record amount since 2006. My colleague the Parliamentary Secretary for Status of Women, and all of my colleagues on our side of the House, have supported this economic action plan to bring the corporation's funding to a record amount since 2006—and to make that funding stable, as we had committed ourselves to doing.

Radio-Canada and the CBC, its anglophone counterpart, play a fundamental role in Canadian cultural identity and in the international position held by Canada.

We have brought CBC/Radio-Canada funding to a record figure, unlike the Liberals who had slashed its funding. This is a subject which calls to mind Ms. Petrowski’s comment on the contrast with the savage Liberal cuts in the 1990s: nearly a half a billion, $440 million slashed.

The government’s revenues are declining at this time, but we believe in the mission of CBC/Radio-Canada and are increasing its funding. The Liberals’ cuts were not negotiated and were directed by the office of the former prime minister, resulting in the elimination of 4,000 jobs at a time of no economic upheaval whatsoever. As I have just said, not only are we providing CBC/Radio-Canada with stable funding, but we are increasing it.

It is a pleasure for me this afternoon to explain to you how important it was for us to increase the corporation's funding by $60 million. Of course, as my colleague indicated, the investment that the Canadian government is making in CBC/Radio-Canada is one of the largest investments of the federal government in culture and Canadian content: $1.1 billion so that the corporation can continue to fulfill its mandate.

That mandate, under the 1991 Broadcasting Act, is to provide radio and television services incorporating a wide range of programming that informs, enlightens and entertains. We committed ourselves, including in our 2008 election platform, to ensuring that CBC/Radio-Canada continues its key role as public broadcaster in Canada.

CBC/Radio-Canada provides a high volume of Canadian content for the broadcasting system. It offers the entire population, from sea to sea, television, radio and Internet services and services on new platforms in both official languages, something it is extremely important to point out. In addition, the corporation also provides services in eight aboriginal languages to the Canadian population living in the north, and multilingual service in many languages on Radio Canada International. Hence its influence is felt not only here at home, but internationally.

CBC/Radio-Canada plays an extremely important role for francophones in Canada and it operates the only national French-language radio and television networks. The corporation’s programming in French and in English is almost entirely Canadian. You will understand that for me, as chair of the Standing Committee on Official Languages, this is a very important role that is part of the mandate of CBC/Radio-Canada. One need only think, for example of CBC English radio, which in Quebec is called the Quebec Community Network, which serves small anglophone groups. Be they in Gaspésie, the Upper North Shore, the Eastern Townships or the Quebec City region, these people have a vital connection thanks to the excellent work done by the corporation in serving the minority linguistic communities.

CBC/Radio-Canada has an ambitious mandate, and that is why we have increased its budget by $60 million. The question you are surely asking yourselves is what we are going to do with this additional $60 million.

The annual report of CBC/Radio-Canada shows that this money has been earmarked for typically Canadian programming. Last year, $27 million was spent on the English television network and $18 million on the French network, as well as $5 million on English radio, $5 million on French radio, and $5 million on intercultural initiatives—programs produced in both English and French and broadcast on both television networks.

Thanks to these $60 million, CBC/Radio-Canada will be able to create new broadcasts, develop bilingual programs and events, and expand its news coverage. Among its specific achievements, I could mention the advertising-free shows for pre-school-age children that are broadcast every morning and the new TV dramas and entertainment shows such as Dragon's Den. I could also mention the bilingual broadcasts and series, such as the documentary Hockey: a People’s History and the development of a public affairs show that is very popular in Quebec, Tout le monde en parle.

We support CBC/Radio-Canada and have enabled it to provide quality programming by increasing its budget since 2006. It provides broad coverage of amateur sports and various weekly magazines. That is another example of what the public broadcaster has achieved for Canadians through the expansion of its news coverage. Radio-Canada’s market share is quite large in this regard. I hear there has also been an increase at CBC television since last year.

The funding does not come from the public purse alone. It is a mixed system. CBC/Radio-Canada receives appropriations from Parliament that are approved right here in the House, and it also generates advertising revenues. In 2008-09, the appropriations for the CBC and Radio-Canada were more than $1 billion, with an additional $60 million announced last week by the Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages in order to provide a broad range of Canadian content, such as the program I just mentioned, Tout le monde en parle.

These $60 million will help CBC/Radio-Canada continue to meet its mandate by developing new programming, creating bilingual broadcasts, and expanding its news coverage from a Canadian perspective. I should mention young people too. We are well aware of the number of programs for young people produced by CBC/Radio-Canada and the challenges it faces in view of the explosion of specialty networks and the expansion of multimedia.

All these developments and the diversity of the programming and services provided with the help of the Canadian government show how these investments are used and how far our national public broadcaster has come since it was created in 1936. Since our government came to power, we have been providing record levels of funding year after year that have been stable and reliable and have enabled CBC/Radio-Canada to plan ahead, something that is very important for any corporation, as well as the additional $60 million.

In conclusion, we are passing now through difficult economic times. It is hard to say when they will be over and how disruptive they will be. One thing is sure though: at a time when the Government of Canada’s revenues are declining, we have increased CBC/Radio-Canada’s funding to amounts unprecedented since we came to power. We are keeping our word, as we did in the past and will continue to do, so that our national broadcaster can fulfill its mission.

[Pablo Rodriguez, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I have to say that the member has some nerve to come here and talk to us about culture today. The Conservatives cut just about everything they could cut, including programs like PromArt and Trade Routes. People in the cultural sector are running away from them. People in Canada's cultural sector fear the government as they fear plague. So he has some nerve talking to us about the Conservative government's commitment.

He said that funding for CBC/Radio-Canada had been increased, but it has not. He mentioned an additional $60 million, but there is no such thing. That money was already there.

I would like to read something and get his reaction. This person said that the government “would put [Radio-Canada]...in a situation where subsidies are weaned away and the future of the company is based on consumer satisfaction."

That is pretty clear. That was a quote from his leader, the Prime Minister. Does he agree with that statement?

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Lévis—Bellechasse, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the member's theatrics hide unprecedented actions. I have a question for my colleague. Did he support the Prime Minister who slashed the budget for Radio-Canada and the CBC when Canada was going through a period of prosperity? In 1995, public television suffered the biggest cutbacks in history under the Chrétien Liberals. That is what Nathalie Petrowski says in La Presse.

Who is he to talk, when he himself did not support a budget that increases funding for CBC/Radio-Canada? Why are we providing record funding not only for CBC/Radio-Canada, but for culture in general? The Conservative government believes in culture, will continue to invest in culture and will promote culture here and elsewhere.

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, despite the rhetoric and the blaming of who cut more and how fast, it is important to recognize that we have real situations right now that are costing us our culture and jobs.

In Windsor, for example, CBC-Radio-Canada has been stripped to bare bones and we are losing other reporting, which is really important because in the shadow of the United States we face an onslaught of media, especially with French language. We do not have carriage outside of our discourse in the United States with use of French language. In fact, many Canadians in the United States receive French language services from the CBC and regional development.

How can my colleague continue to stand here and talk about the government giving more money when, at the end of the day, what is the result? How has the government preserved that in Windsor and other places and why is the minister not telling the CBC to get its act together and not cut regional programming, especially French language services which nobody else provides in North America?

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Lévis—Bellechasse, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question, but I deplore the fact that he voted against the increase in the budgets for CBC/Radio-Canada when he had the opportunity to stand up in this House.

I will answer his question very specifically using the words of the president of CBC/Radio-Canada. On March 26, 2006, he was speaking to the Montreal chamber of commerce, and he assured us that it was possible to continue maintaining a regional presence and regional programming, as indicated in a press release dated March 25, 2009. So despite the economic upheaval, with the stable funding we are giving CBC/Radio-Canada, it is going to continue to carry out its mission. Do you know what Tony Manera, the corporation's president under the Liberals, had to say? Listen carefully. In tendering his resignation, he held the Liberals directly responsible for his departure. He said, “I am resigning because the Liberals broke their promise to guarantee stable funding for Canadian public television.”

We in the Conservative Party are investing in CBC/Radio-Canada.

[Robert Vincent, Bloc, Shefford, QC]

Mr. Speaker, the selection of members to ask questions is not a matter of chance. It operates according to the number of members per party. So your decisions should be consistent. I thank you for giving me the floor. I was the only one to request it.

I would like to ask my colleague opposite a question. We on this side of the House are unanimous in asserting that there has been no increase for CBC/Radio-Canada from the government. The Conservatives, perhaps innocently, are boasting that there has been an increase, that there is $60 million more, but that is not the case.

Do the Conservatives want to control information? They have not given TQS the opportunity to be able to continue broadcasting news in French. They are still cutting news programs. They tell us that news programs will come from Montreal and then go to the regions. Do they want to control information? That is what I am wondering.

However there is something else that is a problem for me. The president of CBC/Radio-Canada went on the public airwaves and told us that there would be cuts to positions. Can the hon. member now tell us that his government will do as the French government has done and give—

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please. There is little time left for the reply of the hon. member for Lévis—Bellechasse.

[Steven Blaney, Conservative, Lévis—Bellechasse, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.

The fact remains that my colleague had the chance to vote here in the House not only to increase the funding of CBC/Radio-Canada, but also to increase funding for culture. Unfortunately he did not do so.

Furthermore, in the economic action plan we work on the fundamentals of the economy, so that the advertising revenue of all the companies engaged in broadcasting will return. In addition, we work to rectify the economic situation. That is the long-term solution, while maintaining stable funding for CBC/Radio-Canada as we are doing.

[Rodger Cuzner, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

Mr. Speaker, I was back in my constituency last weekend and attended a number of events. At each event that I attended, without exception, somebody would enter into the debate and ask where we were going with the CBC and then offer their concerns about the loss of CBC services in our area.

As well, my office has received a great number of phone calls and emails with regard to this topic. To begin my remarks, I will share an email with the House from Ian McNeil of East Lake Ainslie.

He talks about the CBC and the fact that it is a vital piece of national infrastructure. He is amazed that a vital piece of national infrastructure is being allowed to decay before our eyes. What is worse, he says, is that this is happening at a time when the federal government talks about investment in infrastructure. He says that the decay has become devastation with the recent announcement of massive layoffs at CBC. He says that nothing unites this country as thoroughly, democratically, economically as the CBC. He says that it lets us talk to each other in both official languages, on radio, television and the Internet and that it holds a mirror up to Canadians every day and questions what we see. He goes on to say that it reflects and explains to Canadians and to the neighbours in the world around us, that it entertains and informs us, that it provides us with a forum for discussion and creativity, which our economy desperately needs right now.

Those are some comments that were sent to my office by Mr. McNeil and they pretty much echo everything we have been hearing about this issue and the recent cuts that were made by the government.

We grew up with the CBC. As a young guy, I remember making sure I had a nap on Saturday afternoon so I could get into my pyjamas that evening and watch Hockey Night in Canada. We only had the two channels in Glace Bay but the highlight of our week was Hockey Night in Canada. In the earlier years, we might have been allowed to stay up to watch Juliet or Gilligan's Island.

We grew up with the Peter Gzowskis and the Vicki Gabereaus and they have had a huge impact on shaping the overall culture of this country. They have allowed us to realize the great country we are. They have helped impact on our global perspective. They have helped us develop a perspective, a Canadian conscience, all those thing that we probably take for granted. I do not think we will understand the significance until we absolutely lose the CBC.

That is where we are today. We are fearful that once the cuts begin, we will be on that slippery slope and we do not know where the cuts will end.

Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with my colleague from Labrador who will also speak to this because we know the impact it will have on his riding as well.

I want to talk about the impact that it will have locally. I had a discussion with the opposition House leader a little earlier today, the member for Wascana. He talked about the cuts in Saskatchewan and the shutting down of the operation in La Ronge. That station itself in central northern Saskatchewan, which services all the northern communities, many first nations communities, is the well-established voice of the north in Saskatchewan. Tom Robertson was a long-time broadcaster there of legendary proportions. That has just been extracted from those communities. A vital part of communication, a vital part of those communities has just been lost.

It is not dissimilar to my own riding of Cape Breton—Canso. A portion of my riding will continue to be serviced by Halifax. Up by Guysborough, Larrys River and Country Harbour, that area will still be able to access the Halifax station, but in Cape Breton, with the cuts that have been made, it is looking at the loss of maybe six, seven, eight jobs. It was a station that was run on a bare bones staff anyway. There were 22 people to provide the service.

Once we start to lose the journalists, the people who get into the community, who dig up the stories, who share them and who put a human face on a particular issue, we lose the essence of the CBC. We lose what is vital about the CBC if we do not have those people to do that job. The end result is the quality of the program will be impacted. Once that starts to slip, people will believe it does not make a difference if we have the CBC, and then we lose that vital service to our community.

The CBC has meant so much to us in terms of our culture, history and music. I am very fortunate to come from an area like Cape Breton. I look at some of the artists who have contributed not just to the local music scene but nationally and internationally, artists such as Natalie MacMaster, the Rankins, Ashley MacIsaac, Rita MacNeil, the Barra MacNeils, Matt Minglewood and the list goes on. They can go back and speak about their first time being on the radio. When they talk about their first interview and where they learned their chops on the airwaves, they will talk about their interactions with the staff at CBC Sydney.

Getting that kind of music out gives those artists that first opportunity. Then they can tell the stories back. In their songs and words, the artists can celebrate who we are as a people. It is essential that these regional stations and services are allowed to continue to operate. Hopefully, it would have been to grow, but we are now looking at operating and salvaging. The cuts that have been announced have put them in greater jeopardy.

We have good local radio stations. A number of local radio stations are doing fairly well. However, by and large, it is music for the most part. It is top 40 music, country music or whatever the style or theme of the station is. They will do a broadcast and they can come with the headlines. However, it is very rare that they can go deep on stories. They will play the national playlist. They will support Canadian music off the MapleMusic brand.

It is great that we get an opportunity to listen to Bruce Springsteen and Ashlee Simpson, who I am sure are great people and artists. However, we are concerned about Bruce Guthro and Ashley MacIsaac. We are concerned about giving our own musicians and talent a stage on which they can play their music and get it out to the broader public. By doing so, they have an opportunity to start to build a career. The local CBC stations can do that.

Ron James is a buddy of mine. He lived in Glace Bay in his early years. He is a comedian, a great guy and a huge international success. He got his start at CBC Sydney and the local stations. They were there for the good times and the tough times to tell the stories. They were there when Canada hosted the Olympic Games in 1987. It was a great celebration and they talked about Cape Breton right across the country. Those stories were delivered across the country.

When there was a severe loss of life and tragedy at the Devco mine, No. 26 colliery, CBC was at the pithead, talking to the families and community leaders. It is imperative that we support these regional stations. It is imperative that these stations are allowed to tell those stories. The cutbacks today are going to be devastating to the regional stations.

I call upon the government to do something to ensure that bridge money is implemented so these stations can continue to operate.

[Bev Oda, Conservative, Minister of International Cooperation]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member spoke about people and artists back when they were getting their start on the CBC, but where was he and what does he have to say about the late 1980s and early 1990s, when there were major cutbacks CBC budge?

I was on the CRTC at that time and I had to preside at hearings. The CBC came to us and told us that it was cutting the production centre in the Maritimes. At that time, there was a great outcry because of those severe budget cuts.

Many of the discussions I have heard today are the same discussions we had back then. Where was the opposition party then? Why did it make those cuts? Why did it allow that to happen at the time?

Consequently, where was his party then? Where was the member then? That cut was higher than what the Liberals have asked for in this motion.

[Rodger Cuzner, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

Mr. Speaker, we were in government then. Why did she stop with the cuts that were made to the CBC? Why did she not ask us about the cuts we made in National Defence? Why did she not ask us about the cuts we made in health, transportation, in all areas in 1995?

We sent 45,000 federal employees home, and I can stand beside that. They were tough decisions. Why? Because we had to clean up the mess that was left by the previous Mulroney government. That is a fact. I do not know what kind of mess will be left after those guys get finished.

I remind the minister as well as the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, the Minister of Agriculture and the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs that they were in the opposition, saying that the cuts did not go deep enough. That is the truth.

[Guy André, Bloc, Berthier—Maskinongé, QC]

Mr. Speaker, my question is a simple one.

We are well aware that the Conservatives have just cut CBC/Radio-Canada's budget. The Liberal Party has today put forward a motion calling for more support for the corporation.

I have twice asked the Liberal members how they would propose to support CBC/Radio-Canada if they were in power. What would they do to make CBC/Radio-Canada a nation-wide broadcaster, and in particular to bring it into all the francophone communities?

We have good programs and a good radio broadcaster, but at present the funding is lacking. Many jobs are being cut. Eight hundred jobs are soon to be cut at the CBC.

How would the Liberals propose to fund CBC/Radio-Canada if they were in power? I am asking the question for the third time.

[Rodger Cuzner, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

Mr. Speaker, as history shows, governments are not forever, so it is how much life is left in the current government.

There is no question that we are in the midst of some very difficult times, globally and certainly nationally. Canadians are feeling it in many sectors. We are seeing record job losses now. The government's revenues are down as are the ad revenues for CBC. We are approaching very difficult and challenging times.

We should be challenging the government to put forward the necessary bridge funding so these cuts would not have to be made. I know comments have been that job losses would occur anyway, but I would hope the bridge funding would be put in place.

Any government going forward, if it wants to be serious about some kind of national plan on this, has to make a commitment to a national broadcaster. I would hope that party would do it in an upcoming platform.

[Brian Masse, NDP, Windsor West, ON]

Mr. Speaker, it is important to acknowledge that the CBC, especially in border communities like ours, also reaches Canadians in the United States. Without it, we cannot tell stories such as the Navistar truck plant announcement in which the government decided to send $200 million worth of work to Texas instead of Chatham, where those vehicles could have been produced. Therefore, we are losing that voice not only domestically but internationally.

[Rodger Cuzner, Liberal, Cape Breton—Canso, NS]

Mr. Speaker, that goes both ways. Border communities like Windsor have some of the best stations to help Canadian artists. We have a certain market for our artists in Canada, but to get into the American market, Canadian bands, such as the Tragically Hip, are given the opportunity to play at these—

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

Order, please. I will have to stop the hon. member there.

Resuming debate, the hon. member for Labrador.

[Todd Russell, Liberal, Labrador, NL]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Cape Breton—Canso for sharing his time with me today and for his passionate and emotional plea that the government help the CBC.

I would also like to thank the hon. member for Honoré-Mercier for bringing this motion forward. I know his passion about this issue and his strong support for the work that CBC Radio-Canada does throughout the country, including in his own province of Quebec.

I would like to speak about the importance of CBC's work in my part of the country, namely Labrador, and also about the impact this round of cuts will have on my riding and the CBC audience our local bureau serves.

Unfortunately, Labrador has seen this story before. It was under the Mulroney Conservatives in 1990 that we lost our CBC television station in Goose Bay. The journalists who lost their jobs and the community leaders predicted that it would diminish Labrador's voice on the provincial and national scene. Sadly, they were right.

We had, and have, no other alternative for local TV production besides the CBC. There is no CTV, no Global. The same is true for radio where Labrador has virtually no presence of private commercial networks. We have community stations, but our only network connection is via the CBC.

In fact, we have long argued for increasing CBC's presence in Labrador. In particular many Labradorians have called for a pan-Labrador radio signal so that people in southern Labrador could get the Goose Bay radio signal directly. Instead of increasing the presence, it is now being cut back.

These latest cuts are a case of history repeating itself. It is a trend. Conservatives are elected and they cut the CBC. It is an ideological bent on the part of the Conservatives.

Labradorians have been loyal CBC listeners for generation after generation. Our local team of producers and reporters and the entire CBC radio staff do an outstanding job on an already shoestring budget. They bring Labrador news and views to a wide audience. Many of their segments are picked up regionally and nationally. They are also the eyes and ears of Canada when news of national importance breaks in our region. Good news or bad, the CBC is there to explain to local and national audiences the whats, whens and hows of the story. The CBC fills the gap that other networks have never even tried to fill.

To give the House some sense of the work that CBC Labrador does in bringing together our region, I will mention some of the topics covered in just the past few days by its flagship show, Labrador Morning.

There has been extensive coverage of the controversial hunt on the Joir River caribou herd, a story which spans two provinces, ours and Quebec. The CBC has done panel discussions on the local impact of the provincial budget. It has covered a workshop on food security and the nutritional value of traditional wild foods. It has reported on plans to improve Route 389 which links Quebec and Labrador. Again, this is a local story of great interprovincial, and even national, importance. It has covered cutbacks at one of our local airlines. There is the ongoing and very popular Jigs and Reels, a series which regularly checks in on news and happenings in each and every one of Labrador's towns and communities.

Unfortunately, in the past week, CBC Labrador has had to report on the impact of the cutbacks to its own service and the people it serves throughout Labrador.

This is not a matter of nostalgia. This is a bread and butter issue. This is literally about how we share and communicate with one another. It is about our music. It is about our stories. It really is about ourselves.

I have already heard from many groups and concerned individuals who are angry and upset at the cuts that are coming. The town of Happy Valley-Goose Bay issued a strong statement this morning in which Mayor Leo Abbass said, “CBC Labrador Morning is a vital link for our communities across Labrador. It is the only comprehensive radio show devoted to the geographic, cultural and political issues that affect all Labradorians”.

A resident of Nain in northern Labrador said, “Please make sure CBC is not allowed to wither on the vine”.

Another email stated, “In the name of fairness to a territory that already feels disconnected, left out and ignored, I implore you, do not do this to Labrador”.

Another is from North West River which stated, “CBC is the glue that holds us together as a country and reflects our culture”.

A resident of the Lake Melville area said, “Maybe some of those decision makers should come and stay for a winter in one of our towns. We depend on this information for our daily living”.

I echo these statements and the personal attachment that many have to the CBC. I expect to hear more from many more. I hope that the Conservative government is hearing from them, too. Perhaps it will convince the Conservatives to change their minds about the decision to cut the CBC.

Unfortunately, there are too many Conservatives on that side of the House who agree with the sentiments of the industry minister who is on record as saying, “Do we need the CBC, in its current format, when there are so many private broadcasting channels available?” I challenge him to come to Labrador and say that to the residents directly.

In fact, the latest round of cuts targets many rural and northern parts of the country, many areas with large aboriginal populations, such as Labrador, northern Manitoba, northern Saskatchewan and northern Ontario. There are substantial cuts in Newfoundland and in two of the three maritime provinces. Of the thirteen bureaus and stations closed or cut, eight are in Atlantic Canada.

The Broadcasting Act states that CBC Radio-Canada has the mandate to reflect Canada and its regions to national and regional audiences while serving the special needs of those regions, to contribute to shared national consciousness and identity, and be predominantly and distinctively Canadian.

The journalists at CBC Labrador strive to achieve those goals. They do an admirable job with the resources they have available, but now, due to the failure of the Conservative government to provide CBC with the resources it needs, that mandate is in jeopardy. The Labrador staff face a 40% cut. The impact on our region cannot be measured solely in dollars and cents. Labrador will be poorer for it, and all of Canada will be poorer for it.