Mr. Speaker, last week I joined the leader of the official opposition and NDP Toronto caucus colleagues at the CBC headquarters in downtown Toronto, the building a Conservative-appointed board is signalling it wants to sell off.
New Democrats are demanding that the Conservatives reverse their $115 million in cuts to the CBC, which have led to 650 layoffs since the 2012 budget. Those cuts are on top of $440 million in cuts under previous Liberal governments.
We are also calling for an independent process for appointing members to the CBC's board of directors.
I frequently hear from constituents of Toronto—Danforth who are extremely concerned about the future and the fate of our public broadcaster. They want to see stable and adequate funding to keep it strong.
To quote one constituent, Nora, “I know mine is a very small voice in a very large auditorium, but please promote a good, independent and effective CBC. I think Canada needs this, and I know I do”.
I urge the government to heed this call.