Friends of Canadian Broadcasting's Ian Morrison recalls the fight against Bill C-60 to defend CBC

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      A nonprofit group that fights for Canada's broadcasting sector has promised to take on Stephen Harper next year "for the damage he has done to the CBC".

      Ian Morrison of Friends of Canadian Broadcasting made the comment in a new video (see above) that recounts this year's fight against Bill C-60.

      The legislation was designed to bring CBC News employees more under the control of the Conservative government by changing the collective-bargaining process at Crown corporations.

      Morrison also expressed frustration with continuing cutbacks to the CBC.

      Earlier this year, the government announced $115 million in funding cuts over three years, which would result in the development of six fewer series, elimination of the foreign-affairs radio show Dispatches, the loss of 88 jobs at CBC News, and the closure of South American and African bureaus.

      At one point in the video, Morrison singles out Port Moody-Westwood-Port Coquitlam MP James Moore for special criticism.

      That's because when Moore was the minister for Canadian Heritage, he promised to maintain or enhance CBC funding after the 2011 election.

      "We all know that promise wasn't worth the paper it was written on and the government soon after slashed CBC's funding once again, this time by 10 percent," Morrison noted.

      Comments

      5 Comments

      The Government

      Dec 26, 2013 at 12:30pm

      The present government is the biggest threat to Canadian democracy that this country has ever faced. If they are allowed to continue, soon no dissension will be permitted.

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      G

      Dec 26, 2013 at 4:50pm

      "The present government is the biggest threat to Canadian democracy that this country has ever faced. If they are allowed to continue, soon no dissension will be permitted."

      What ridiculous hyperbole but typical from the left conditioned herd, just as the right conditioned herd scream "communism" when faced with left governments. There are myriad threats to "Canadian Democracy" and none of them are unique to the current criminals in charge. The cuts to the CBC are long overdue as the corporation is spending far too much on administration, and Don Cherry, than on production. There is nothing inherently "good" about the CBC and for years they have relied upon the misguided notion that somehow they are essential to the "fabric" of the country.

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      Snicker

      Dec 27, 2013 at 8:24am

      Gleichschaltung

      You cannot have Totalitarianism without fully controlling the media and the message.

      History can be foresight.

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      kiskatinawkid

      Dec 27, 2013 at 12:15pm

      Gee G, opinionated opinions are soooooo boring! Try to come up with something intelligent to say. Like: "ET, TMZ and Survivor are the best shows, like ever, and they're not on CBC. So what good is it?"
      Or something like: "CBC has some of the best news and investigative shows, so maybe they should do more of that." Of course it won't happen for the very reason heir harper wants it gone...it doesn't tow the current pro-corporate, privatization line.
      Is it over administrated? Probably. But that's all part of the current agenda. Make it fail. Kind of like the senate.
      As for Cherry, that annoying gasbag will be gone now that Rogers is it for hockey. And good riddance. He'll be the next harper appointee to the set up to fail "upper house".
      On that note, happy new year!

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      Chris

      Apr 1, 2014 at 6:47am

      It is a very disturbing truth that some Canadians are not willing to face; that is that the government is the biggest threat to our democracy. Let's face it, CBC is a crown corporation; if a story exists that is very contentious and potentially scandalous against our government and affects the rights and democracy of Canadians,CBC will not touch it. They will certainly jump on it after it's been broken by another media outlet, but they will not be the ones to break the story. The CBC has done investigative stories that did not look good for our government,but only after others have already broke the story and it's made news. Canadians will soon realize that our government does control the CBC. Ian Morrison is in a better position to understand the relevancy of a media crown corporation and the relation to Bill C-60 than the average Canadian that doesn't understand the politics that take place behind the peering eyes of the public. The CBC does not operate at an arm's length from the government and they are not independent. We don't want to believe that these things can happen in a country like Canada, but the fact is that it is happening in Canada. The problem of the control over the production and dissemination of news is very real with a crown corporation where the CEO is appointed by the government, as it is with any other crown corporation. This conflicts with the policy mandate of CBC. There is a balancing act that is required to maintain the public perception of independence and protecting the government's influence and control at the top level.

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