Kris Sims is the Alberta Director for the Canadian Taxpayers FederationEarlier this month, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation was summoned to testify to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, regarding its case to defund the CBC.As CTF Alberta Director and former longtime member of the Parliamentary Press Gallery, I showed up. And when I did, accompanied by investigative reporter Ryan Thorpe, I gave three reasons for defunding.First, the CBC was a huge waste of money.Second, nearly nobody is watching it.Third, journalists should not be paid by the government.On the matter of cost, I told the committee that, "The CBC is getting $1.4 billion from taxpayers this year. That money could instead pay the salaries of around 7,000 paramedics and 7,000 police officers. That money could instead pay for groceries for about 85,000 Canadian families, for a year. Instead, taxpayers are paying $1.4 billion so the CBC can hand out huge bonuses, get microscopic ratings and overpay its out-of-touch executives."And, with regard to viewership, CBC news network's audience share is 1.7%. That's according to their own records. That means that more than 98% of Canadians are choosing to not watch CBC's news channel. We have some breaking news here in committee. Documents obtained by the CTF show that the CBC's supper hour news audience is so small that it's difficult to measure.As for CBC CEO Catherine Tait's refusal to tell the committee whether she will take a severance when she leaves the state broadcaster, she says she considers that to be a “personal matter”. No way. It's not personal if it's taxpayers' money. Documents obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation show that Tait is paid between $460,000 and $551,000 this year, with a bonus of up to 28%. That is a bonus of $154,000. That bonus is more than the average Canadian family earns in a year.Canadians need a press that is free from government, so the people can hold their government to account.The CBC is a huge waste of money. Nearly nobody is watching it, and journalists should not be paid by the government. It is time to defund the CBC. There, I've said it again.Kris Sims is the Alberta Director for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.
