If the role of a public broadcaster is to be what Canadian Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge wants it to be, let’s not have one. The CBC already presents its own version of Canadian values and reality. But, if the 'vision' she articulated this morning ever comes to pass, with its amplified funding and a mandate to fight 'dis/mis-information,' it becomes a semi-official news agency in fact as well as appearance.St-Onge spent an hour this morning, conflating support for the CBC with love of country, ‘telling our own stories,’ our way, and fighting the sinister power of people like Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerberg. Indeed, rather than being wound up, as Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has promised a Conservative government would do, she now promises to double CBC’s per capita funding and to stabilise this funding through legislation.There is, of course, an election in the offing. Sounding patriotic by pluckily running against American oligarchs was to be expected. But it still sounds a bit rich. St-Onge: "CBC/Radio-Canada is more than a broadcaster — it is a pillar of our cultural identity and a cornerstone of our sovereignty. For nearly a century, it has brought us together, shared our stories and strengthened our national dialogue. In a time of rapid change and external pressures, we must be bold in protecting and modernizing this institution, ensuring it remains strong, independent and truly reflective of who we are."Or who the Liberals would like us to be, anyway. .Liberals propose doubling CBC funding amid election uncertainty, language divide and US ‘disinformation’.Under St-Onge's plan, there would also be an emphasis on the separation of French and English programming: In the Liberal mind, that perhaps equates with fostering national unity. And of course, there would be an indigenous strategy.And as part of its commitment to fighting disinformation, it would be expected to declare truth to be whatever its political masters want it to be at the moment. (And conversely, to declare as anathema whatever is inconvenient for its funders to admit.) Thus, "I propose to anchor in the CBC's mandate its role in helping the Canadian population, fight against mis-information and understand fact-based information."So whose job exactly will it be to decide what is true and what is not true? Anybody you trust for their diamond-cut impartiality, their deep knowledge of and respect for western civilization, or their steadfast refusal to go out on a limb by accusing provincial politicians of malfeasance?Recently unemployed fact-checkers? Think COVID coverage. Think Convoy. Think Trump, and American oligarchs.To be fair to St-Onge, she knows Canadians don’t trust the CBC. (No kidding!)However, she appears to think this could be remedied by simply having the broadcaster's CEO appointed by the CBC board, rather than the government.Miss, who appoints CBC board members? Is it not the government by order-in-council? (It is.)The reader must further appreciate that to be appointed to anything by a Liberal government, even to be the federal designate to a harbour commission, never mind to the board of the national myth-maker and arbiter of accuracy, you must be a certain kind of person. That person must not only hold 'acceptable' views, but also deplore those with 'unacceptable' views, as understood by the Liberal government du jour.So, you can imagine the kind of CEO who would be acceptable to that kind of a board.Somebody like the recent incumbent Catherine Tait, one supposes.All of this is long-range thinking of course, more of a campaign promise, even. For any of it to happen, Parliament must be recalled. And if/when Parliament is recalled, this government will fall almost immediately and an election campaign will follow — one from which the minister has already withdrawn. .HANNAFORD: We know what you're thinking so we're putting you in jail... The Online Harms Act is harmful indeed.Nevertheless, like anti-liberty legislation that died with prorogation, the minister's remarks this morning betray a way of thinking that is deeply embedded in the Liberal Party of Canada, and among those who in return for their support, a Liberal government grants access to its trough.Minister St-Onge has given us one more reason to reject the Liberal party. She has also given us several more to justify a new government scrapping Canada's national Ministry of Truth.
