Buried deep in the government’s latest Omnibus Budget Bill is an insidious plan to take control of the lion’s share of CBC spending, a move that will undermine the CBC’s editorial independence.
If this provision becomes law, Stephen Harper will become the ultimate boss at CBC with all employees, including journalists, beholden to him.
This is a move that could turn our national public broadcaster into a politically controlled propaganda machine. It would prevent the CBC from playing its critical role in holding governments of all stripes accountable to Canadians.
A majority of the CBC's Board of Directors have contributed financially to the Conservative Party, including Rémi Racine, the Board chair, who gave the Conservative Party of Canada $1,200.00 last year while sitting on the Board.
In addition to stacking the Board with Conservative supporters, the Harper government, for the first time, has required the CBC Chair to maintain “effective relationships" with Heritage Minister Moore and his staff as a condition of appointment.
The government is also supporting a private member's Bill (C-461) that would undermine the CBC's competitive position, while some of its MPs have openly mused about ending CBC funding altogether.
We need to Free CBC from political interference.
Please sign the petition now!
Campaign News:
FRIENDS was on Parliament Hill on May 8 to present a copy of the FREE CBC petition signatures (collected by FRIENDS, Leadnow and SumOfUs) to members of the government and opposition parties and to hold a press conference.
May 31, 2013 — Ad campaign: Full page ad in Le Devoir
A full-page ad in Le Devoir displaying a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper signed by sixteen eminent Canadians from the worlds of journalism and academia.
May 27, 2013 — Ad campaign: Bill C-60 Threatens CBC's Independence
A full-page ad in The Hill Times displaying a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper signed by sixteen eminent Canadians from the worlds of journalism and academia.
May 23, 2013 — Letter: Letter to Prime Minister Harper regarding Bill C-60
A letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper signed by sixteen eminent Canadians from the worlds of journalism and academia expresses deep concern that “Bill C-60 would undermine the arms-length relationship between the CBC, our national public broadcaster, and the federal government.”
May 23, 2013 — News Release: CBC's independence at risk if Bill C-60 passes as is
Many of Canada's leading authorities and practitioners of journalism are calling for changes to Bill C-60 so that the government's Omnibus Budget legislation does not do irreparable harm to the editorial independence of the CBC.
May 8, 2013 — News Release: FREE CBC from political interference
No public broadcaster in any free and democratic country anywhere in the world faces political interference with its editorial independence as proposed for the CBC in Bill C-60.
May 8, 2013 — Speech: FREE CBC from political interference Budget Omnibus Bill C-60
In a press conference on Parliament Hill, FRIENDS spokesperson, Ian Morrison, says that when the government takes control of collective bargaining at the CBC, as Bill C-60 proposes to do, the Prime Minister will become the ultimate boss of all of the CBC’s employees.
May 6, 2013 — Ad campaign: Deceive
A full-page ad in The Hill Times to mark the second anniversary of the Conservatives' broken promise on CBC funding.
Friends of Canadian Broadcasting is an independent watchdog for Canadian programming and is not affiliated with any broadcaster or political party.
The Conservative Broadcasting Corporation?
May 8, 2013
