Mr. Speaker, Conservatives talk a big game when it comes to supporting multiculturalism, yet the policies of the government have allowed the telecom sector to end local multicultural offerings. Case in point, when Rogers slashed OMNI TV's multilingual services, the government closed its eyes and hoped no one would notice.
Despite building a company on the backs of ethnic communities, Rogers has clearly abandoned its roots.
With the help of the government, Rogers ended Portuguese and South Asian newscasts, 21 programs in 12 different languages, and replaced daily OMNI newscasts with current affairs programming without original reporting and, now, the newscasts in Punjabi, Mandarin, Cantonese, and Italian have also been cancelled.
Governments must create a climate where multicultural programming can flourish. It is time for the government and Rogers to take their responsibilities seriously. It is not always about money; it is about identity.