Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present a petition signed by voters. It reads as follows:
We, the undersigned residents of Canada, draw the attention of the House of Commons to the following:
WHEREAS the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), as the national public broadcaster, plays an important role in reflecting Canada and its regions to national and regional audiences, while serving the special needs of those regions
WHEREAS, in our current media environment, public broadcasting is an essential promoter and defender of Canadian culture, in both French and English
WHEREAS Canadians should continue to have access to Canadian stories and Canadian content and media should provide vibrant and rewarding new avenues for expression by Canadian artists
WHEREAS Canada requires a broadcaster that reflects the different needs and circumstances of each official language community, including the particular needs and circumstances of English and French linguistic minorities
WHEREAS Canadians can benefit from a shared national consciousness and identity
WHEREAS the public broadcasters, Radio Canada and CBC, have a crucial role to play in achieving these objectives
WHEREAS the CBC requires steady funding to maintain national, regional and local programming, including news coverage and services to linguistic minorities throughout Canada—
I will leave it at that, but there is more.