Mr. Speaker, on March 27, I had the opportunity to question the Minister of Canadian Heritage about CBC funding. The minister merely gave partisan and repetitive answers providing no reassurance to Canadians about funding for the corporation.
The Conservatives may not care about preserving the corporation's mission, but citizens do. On May 11, Le Journal de Montréal published the results of the CROP survey conducted for the Fédération nationale des communications:
—89% of Quebeckers “agree” or “strongly agree” with the fact that the CBC is an important vehicle for Canadian and Quebec culture and that its mission must be fully protected and 81% feel that it is “fairly important” or “very important” that the government ensure its development by increasing its funding if necessary.
How can this government be so out of touch with reality and the wishes of Canadians?
The Conservatives have slashed funding for our national broadcaster. In addition to its refusal to advance $125 million, the government has not yet released the $60 million the corporation counts on every year to balance its budget. Consequently, the corporation must now cut 800 jobs, close stations in many regions and decrease its production.
As if that were not enough, the government has asked the CBC to conduct a strategic analysis of its spending, which could result in $56 million in additional cuts in 2010-11.
The well-known former news anchor, Bernard Derome, blamed the Conservative government's attitude toward the CBC, saying that more and more Canadians were getting worried about the current situation, which was threatening the development of francophone culture in Canada. All the Prime Minister's Office could say in response was that this proved that the CBC was anti-Conservative.
In response to Mr. Derome's call to action, a group of people got together to oppose, with public support, the Conservative government's decision to abandon the CBC to its fate. This group, SOS Radio-Canada, is one of the driving forces behind the campaign to save the CBC. In addition to the support campaigns, petitions and Facebook groups, the Syndicat des communications de Radio-Canada has launched a campaign entitled “I am, we are for better support for Radio-Canada”.
What do these Canadians want? It is clear: to maintain news coverage and national, regional, and local programming in Quebec; to maintain French-language news and programming in francophone minority communities outside Quebec; and to maintain the corporation's 2008 staffing and service levels.
On March 31, we, the Liberals, introduced a motion that was adopted by a vote of 136 to 126. This motion recognized the indispensable role of the CBC in providing national, regional, and local programming including news coverage and services to linguistic minorities throughout Canada and urged the government to provide the bridge financing the corporation requires to maintain 2008 staffing and service levels.
We need to have the courage to talk openly and honestly about the future of the CBC. Clearly, the Conservatives lack courage. Instead, they are using the economic crisis as an excuse to attack this national institution and deny it the funding it needs.
When will the Conservatives give the CBC the stable funding it so badly needs?