Canada’s federal government is obliged to report to the Canadians it serves how it spends our money. There are full-blown budgets released in the spring, followed by fall updates..These are voluminous, bulky documents. The government has a lot of our money to spend, and it takes a lot of space to outline where it all went..However, the bulk also gives it space in the back pages to list items it would prefer to not become big talking points..The Fall Economic Statement 2022 is one such. It was released November 3 by Finance Minister and wanna-be prime minister, Chrystia Freeland. It's a 96-page document that's as much a financial statement as it is a political document as the bureaucrat authors break their arms slapping each other on the back in celebration of the great job they’ve done, spending our money..By the way, the document says the federal government expects to collect $198.4 billion in personal income taxes in 2021-2022, rising to $261.6 billion in 2027-2028..The fall report is full of rhetoric, charts and graphs. You don’t necessarily need an economic degree to understand it all, but that would help. One thing you definitely need is patience..To be clear, there are a lot of expenditures highlighted in the report that are worthwhile and responsible..But there in the back pages — page 74 to be exact — is a list of items not covered in previous pages. This is a typical maneuver to hide items, including this: $42 million to help CBC/Radio-Canada recover from the pandemic. Helping the public broadcaster to “offset revenues losses related to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.”.Ridiculous. The Liberals helping CBC recover from the pandemic?.While most Canadians were trying to keep families healthy, food on the table and a roof over their heads, all the while dealing with draconian lockdowns and other restrictive measures, including going to work..Workers across Canada trying to do their jobs..Owners looking for ways to keep their businesses operating and their people employed..But $42 million is a drop in the bucket for CBC..The corporation took $1.5 billion of our money in 2021-2022 alone, while Canadians have been on the hook for more than $156 million of our money in the form of raises and bonuses for CBC staff since 2015..The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) says CBC employees received an average of $14,200 per year in the form of bonuses while salary raises averaged $1,800 a year..Additionally, CBC paid its staff $51 million in bonuses and raises during the pandemic..“If the CBC has enough money lying around to hand out millions in bonuses and raises during a pandemic, then taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to fork over more money,” said CTF Federal Director Franco Terrazzano..It’s not CBC’s money, but it is money being thrown down a black hole..The Western Standard reported in April “data from the CRTC show the CBC has dropped to less than 3.9% of viewership across Canada in 2018-2019, a whopping drop of 25%..If you are a manufacturer or merchant and only 3.9% of your product is selling, you change the product or you go out of business. Your once friendly banker would come calling for the keys to the front door..It’s said the CBC is the propaganda arm of the government..That’s not true..It is the propaganda arm of the Liberal Party, even when it is not the party in power and as such, it should take the financial burden of the CBC off the shoulders of Canadians and cover the costs with its own money..The CBC must be defunded, but the mainstream legacy media disagrees, only because if the Liberals stop giving the CBC money, the Liberals will stop giving them money..The mantra should be changed from defunding the CBC to defunding the media.
