Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government has recruited seven “media experts” to help upgrade state broadcaster CBC/Radio-Canada before the next election. Despite laying off 141 employees and 205 vacant positions in December 2023 and annual parliamentary appropriation of $1.2 billion, CBC currently projects it will be $20-million short on its 2024-25 fiscal budget. The Trudeau Liberals earlier announced they want to redefine the role of CBC before Canadians head to the polls no later than October 2025. Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, who is well ahead of Trudeau in the polls and many speculate is likely to win a majority government in the next election, has promised to defund the CBC and revamp its Toronto headquarters into affordable housing.The seven appointees will advise Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge, who is responsible for renewing the CBC’s role as the nation’s public broadcaster, and provide policy recommendations on the institution’s governance and funding, according to the Department of Canadian Heritage.Members of the panel will contribute expertise from a variety of fields, as each of them have diverse backgrounds that will help modernize the state broadcaster, St-Onge said in a statement Monday, per the Canadian Press. “Canadians need a strong, innovative and independent public broadcaster that is ready to meet the challenges of this period of transformation and upheaval in news and content creation," St-Onge said in a statement Monday.The heritage minister said the panel will focus on Canadian culture and languages through stories created by various artists and content creators "while adapting to our rapidly changing broadcast and digital landscape.”The seven appointees are: Marie-Philippe Bouchard, CEO of TV5 Québec CanadaJesse Wente, chair of the Canada Council for the Arts, founding executive director of the Indigenous Screen OfficeJennifer McGuire, managing director of Pink Triangle PressDavid Skok, CEO and editor-in-chief of independent media startup The Logic Mike Ananny, associate professor of communication and journalism, University of Southern California AnnenbergLoc Dao, executive director of DigiBCCatalina Briceno, professor at Université du Québec à Montréal.CBC CEO Catherine Tait for months has been demanding “sustainable long-term funding” to deal with the broadcaster’s media “crises.”Tait earlier told MPs foreign social media companies that platform independent journalists pose competition for legacy media because they don’t have the same regulations. She also noted the CBC has faced a drop in advertising revenue. "I've been in this business 40 years and never before have I seen so great pressure on our domestic industry, and it is very worrisome," said Tait. "We see people disappearing, companies disappearing, production houses shutting down.""In the past CBC/Radio-Canada had an employee body of about 10,000. Today we're at 7,500,” Tait lamented, adding “90% of our budget is dedicated to our workforce, so if something hits us, an economic hardship or financial hardship, the only lever we have is through workforce adjustment."CBC spokesperson Emma Iannetta said, “We welcome any discussion on the future of public broadcasting and we appreciate the minister's strong support for the important role CBC/Radio-Canada plays in the lives of all Canadians."
