A Commons heritage committee report has urged Parliament to increase funding for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), which currently receives $1.4 billion annually. Blacklock's Reporter says the CBC is requesting an additional $400 to $500 million per year, according to CEO Catherine Tait’s testimony at a November 25 hearing.A report, titled Future Of CBC: Challenges And Opportunities, recommended a “substantial and lasting increase” to the CBC’s parliamentary funding to eliminate its paid subscription services and reduce reliance on commercial advertising. However, no specific dollar figure was included in the report.In a dissenting report, the Conservative Party called for the CBC to be defunded, accusing the broadcaster of financial mismanagement. “The CBC cut hundreds of jobs while awarding lavish bonuses,” said Conservative MP Kevin Waugh (Saskatoon-Grasswood, Sask.), a member of the heritage committee.“This disgraceful abuse of taxpayer dollars when Canadians are struggling for financial survival has contributed to the ‘defund the CBC’ movement,” said Waugh, whose remarks were met with applause from fellow opposition members.This year, CBC managers received $14.9 million in bonuses while cutting 346 jobs. The New Democratic Party, in its own dissenting opinion, demanded an end to such bonuses. “Executive bonuses must be banned,” the NDP wrote.Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge defended the CBC in testimony, criticizing what she described as “continuous attacks by the Conservative Party” on the broadcaster’s subsidies. “It is something I hold very dear,” said St-Onge. “They are defending themselves from that, and I am happy to help them do that.”Efforts to privatize the CBC have been debated for years. A 2017 bill, C-308 An Act To Provide For The Incorporation Of The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, proposed reorganizing the broadcaster under the Canada Business Corporations Act and privatizing it within three years. The bill was defeated by a vote of 260 to 6.Privatization remains Conservative Party policy, with current Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre calling the CBC “a biased propaganda arm of the Liberal Party.” He has proposed cuts to English-language TV programming, vowing to create “a neutral and free media” if elected Prime Minister.
