CBC’s Value Questioned by Conservatives

Scary times for the CBC. Our national broadcaster has long been a target for many conservatives. They attack and accuse it of being irrelevant to Canadians. I remember in the 1990’s when they started, they followed the right wing American tactic of accusation. This makes the target of the accusation bend over backwards to prove that they aren’t biased. I think the CBC provides excellent objective reporting. Let’s protect our national broadcaster.

The Globe and Mail and Friends of Canadian Broadcasting have exposed three Conservatives putting questionnaires on their websites asking whether CBC is worth the taxpayer money that is spent on it. The Conservative tactic is to dress their concern to look like the issue is saving taxpayers’ money. Their real agenda is to choke out the centrist, and progressive voice. But all Western democracies have public broadcasters, which are better funded than the CBC, free of political tampering.

Here is the notice from Friends of Canadian Broadcasting and Ian Morrison:

Using phony surveys and trumped-up petitions, the Conservatives are attempting to show that Canadians do not support the CBC.

In the last few days, I have seen these surveys with my own eyes. Supporters of public broadcasting need to respond, and quickly.

I am writing to ask for your help.

Just today, I saw that Rob Anders, the Conservative MP for Calgary West, is circulating an online petition to the House of Commons calling on the Harper government to “end public funding of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation”

On top of this, Irving R. Gerstein, Chair of the Conservative Fund Canada has sent a “National Critical Issues Survey” to financial supporters. Gerstein’s survey contains only ten questions.

Question 8 reads “In recent years, CBC funding has exceeded a billion dollars per year. Do you think taxpayers receive good value or bad value from the CBC?”

Gerstein writes: “I would like to report to our caucus on where you stand on some key issues facing Canada”. He adds: “This survey is very, very important to our legislative planning”.

So, Prime Minister Harper’s closest colleague in the Conservative Party thinks that CBC funding is a “critical issue” – one of the top ten questions facing Parliament in the coming session.

Another Conservative, Ed Holder, the MP for London West’s website currently has an online questionnaire: “Do you believe taxpayers should continue to provide funding to CBC Radio?”

These kinds of phony public opinion soundings stand in sharp contrast to Harper’s Heritage Minister James Moore who, just four months ago said: “We believe in the national public broadcaster. We have said that we will maintain or increase support for the CBC. That is our platform and we have said that before and we will commit to that”.

You and I have to make sure that Harper and his caucus hear loud and clear from Canadians that they care deeply and unequivocally about their CBC.

Friends of Canadian Broadcasting is asking for donations to carry out an objective survey. You can contact them at www.friends.ca.

The CBC is an invaluable and integral part of Canada. The CBC’s mandate is not the same as that of commercial media with a goal of making profits for shareholders. The CBC exists to serve Canadians and enhance citizenship in various ways by:
• bringing together all parts of Canada, and sharing our stories;
• providing services across the country, including remote regions;
• reflecting diversity and including different segments of our society;
• providing services to local communities and the whole country;
• providing objective news reporting that is not subject to advertisers’ biases;
• providing a forum for politicians and public figures to share their views;
• supporting the expression of creative Canadian talent and various Canadian arts;
• providing entertainment, and excellent documentary programming;
• helping us create the kind of country we want.
Private broadcasters do not have these mandates.

We need to make a stand. Canadians need to stop being confused about the Conservative agenda. We need to wake up and wake each other up.

Please call or email Rob Anders, Ed Holder, and your MP. Their contact information can be found at www.parl.gc.ca/MembersofParliament. Tell them what the CBC means to you. Now is the time to act.

Respectfully Submitted,

Margaret McLeod

Welcome to my blog!

I have been waiting to get this blog started for months. And now I begin!

I am concerned about the erosion of democracy, especially here in Alberta. This blog will give me an opportunity to dialogue, share, think, talk, debate, and discuss about democracy and the society we are creating here in Alberta and in Canada.

We live in one of the best countries in the world. Democracy is precious, and continually evolving. It needs monitoring and tending, checks and balances, challenging and strengthening. It is never static. I want to be a citizen who is awake and aware, who cares and speaks out, who supports others to give their voice and ideas. I want to be part of an “us” that makes Canada strong.

This blog will give me an opportunity to organize my thoughts and share them. I think after 69 years of life, having been born and raised in Alberta, having seen the arc of life from the Second World War to the present, having had a career as a psychologist, I have a unique perspective.

I believe in humanity. I believe in the value of all of life. I also know that trouble happens when we go unconscious, give up, or don’t care. I believe life pulls us to a higher consciousness, but usually we don’t move forward or wake up until there is a crisis. The crisis challenges us to open our eyes and see what’s really going on. Then we have to adapt, find better ways to understand things, make corrections and adjustments, and create a new and better reality.

We are in a crisis now. On the surface we appear to be a very affluent and prosperous society. We know that our material abundance is taking a toll on our environment, on the poor, on Third World countries, and on the planet we will leave for future generations.

Our world is changing so rapidly. Technology has given us instant communications all over the world. All these new gadgets and programs call us into the flow. We have the ability to bypass mainstream media. We can find each other in our own groups and identities. I want to join the new dance. I want to learn how jump in and be part of this new and exciting changing world.

This blog will have a number of themes and threads. I will write about democracy being worth fighting for, the right left dichotomy, Liberalism, the CBC, watching the Conservatives, the paradigm shift and the New Enlightenment, spirituality/religion and politics, and other themes. I welcome your participation and feedback. Please write me and let me know what you think. I will appreciate direction to good sites, or hearing from people with shared concerns. Let’s use this new magic and expand our capacity to bring positive energy, creativity, and strength to our beautiful Canada.

With pride in citizenship,
Margaret McLeod