Sell the CBC?

[August1991]

We're not questioning whether CBC employees are worth one-third more than their private-sector counterparts or not. We're just saying that in today's thousand channel universe where there is no shortage of places where Canadians can view Canadian programming, there is simply no reason why taxpayers should be footing the bill.

Selling the CBC will save taxpayers more than $1 billion annually. It will also fetch a pretty penny that can be applied to the debt, a move that will save taxpayers even more money each year in reduced interest payments.

sellthecbc.ca

If you voted yes, you can click on the link and sign the petition.

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I have mixed feelings about R-C and the CBC. If a federal radio/TV service did not exist, I think that we would still have a State service in Quebec. And I wonder what that would mean.

IOW, how do we pay for building a bridge, and how should we charge for its use?

Edited October 14, 2011 by August1991

[jacee]

We have a public broadcaster in Canada because we have many remote communities that need to keep in touch with national news and would not get served by private broadcasters.

Also, in my opinion, private media tend to be right wing to suit their 'sponsors' as they are beholden to them. A public broadcaster balances the scales.

As for the pay ... I'd like to see the evidence.

[William Ashley]

We have a public broadcaster in Canada because we have many remote communities that need to keep in touch with national news and would not get served by private broadcasters.

Also, in my opinion, private media tend to be right wing to suit their 'sponsors' as they are beholden to them. A public broadcaster balances the scales.

As for the pay ... I'd like to see the evidence.

Hi JC, while I think that communities need to network for this function, it would be great if the CBC functioned as a

federal community network, rather than a crown corporation, if it is for that reason. It'd be nice to see more of a PBS like CBC (even if it didn't replace the CBC. I really think that crown corporations should be self funding or operate from donations.

So as to allow for reduced taxation. Or ideally 0 taxation. Even a "tax deduction" instead of for political parties but for crown corporations would allow direct funding of tax appropriation that is the tax payer decides where their money goes.. 40 billion dollar jets or the cbc, etc..

Much like the Radio station I am a volunteer at 100.3 Sound FM in Waterloo, community based radio is required to be "self funded", sadly as 100.3 is a definate example of how funds arn't always there. Sound is in dire need of funding to continue operations and must raise $4000 or more a month just to meet the bills. Needing to pay for an auditor for charitable status makes it even more difficult for these small corporations.. they can't even get the charitable status because they can't afford the auditor not because they don't want to but that auditor is a month of paying the bills just to get the status. http://soundfm.ca/

CBC has a funding of over $1.5 billion/year that is over 30,000 of our tiny radio stations. That is one radio station per 1000 people on the funding of the cbc for a year. While I think that organizations such as the CBC are important JC local community radio stations and federal and international media networks for community programming and news be it independent media local media or major news stories or segments are all things we should not loose sight of, we need to understand that we need multiple sources of media and many inputs and shares of information to insure that we have reliable information community based information and trusted news sources and people of experience so we can raise the creme and have the best programming resources available. If you donate to a local media outlet you are helping, and in many cases these are charitable organizations thus a tax deduction.

I don't support taxes for anything but essential services. A means of government communication should definately exist, but I think that this requirement resting only on one organization such as the CBC is not sufficient, as if that station were to be disrupted you would not have news. That is why "networking" of radio stations in groups such as NCCRA are useful. We can't focus solely on the CBC it would be great if donations poured in for community stations, or the federal government funded more community based programing, including northern areas.

CBC is suppose to be the cream of public media. Yet I see US programming on it. That is where it has gone wrong.. american programming. http://arts.nationalpost.com/2011/01/26/vive-la-difference-cbc-moves-away-from-u-s-programming/

What we need is all that dead air filled with community based programming. Why watch reruns of the same shows at night when community based programming could fill the air waves instead of that same 3 year old episode of the mercer report. Nothing against mercer but a 4x rerun is overkill.

A CBC model is one that should actively network and cooperate with community tv and radio, newsprint and other forms around Canada and the world to get low cost good content on a nationally broadcast medium. I'm not seeing that, fund it but spread the wealth.

We need to understand though Media is politicized. One can only hope with active community involvement local media can be representative of the community likewise local communities can share with one another on a national basis.

Edited October 15, 2011 by William Ashley

[fellowtraveller]

have mixed feelings about R-C and the CBC. If a federal radio/TV service did not exist, I think that we would still have a State service in Quebec. And I wonder what that would mean.

It would mnean nothing substantive fiancially would change, since a provincial radio/TV network in Quebec would cost a few hundred million to operate and the money would come from Ottawa anyway.

Of course.

Anything else would be racist and fuelled by Anglo hatred of all things French..........

_{Did I play that card too early???}

[fellowtraveller]

We have a public broadcaster in Canada because we have many remote communities that need to keep in touch with national news and would not get served by private broadcasters.

Nonsense, that is an old canard that has no base in reality any more. Nearly all 'remote' communities are well served by amenities like broadband Internet and satellite radio, which carries PBS, BBC World Service and yes, CBC.

[Also, in my opinion, private media tend to be right wing to suit their 'sponsors' as they are beholden to them. A public broadcaster balances the scales.

/quote]This is an even more pathetic reason for keeping CBC around: to provide a political bias paid for by taxpayers? Wow.

There is little point in offering the CBC for sale, nobody same would buy a business that loses so much money. It would be possible to sell the bits for cash- real estate, production facilities, residual rights to big earners like reruns of Wayne and Schuster or Road to Avonlea.

No, better to just give it away to those that love the programming. They can run it as they please, along the lines of PBS or a Canadian public radio success story: CKUA. They have the answer, which is subscription support. It works very well indeed.

[olp1fan]

Funny how right wingers want to axe CBC but are perfectly fine with their tax money going to American security contractors such as the ones at the G20

.. PERFECTLY fine with Gazebos and fake lakes... perfectly fine with flying Mackay and the military commander to hockey games and to vacations

Hey worry about the excess tax waste from your own party before you point your sausage fingers at anything else

CBC is as Canadian as is Maple Syrup

Edited October 15, 2011 by olp1fan

[Boges]

Funny how right wingers want to axe CBC but are perfectly fine with their tax money going to American security contractors such as the ones at the G20

.. PERFECTLY fine with Gazebos and fake lakes... perfectly fine with flying Mackay and the military commander to hockey and to vacations

Hey worry about the excess tax waste from your own party before you point your sausage fingers at anything else

CBC is as Canadian as is Maple Syrup

Those things aren't even comparable. And Maple Syrup is absurdly expensive.

The CBC doesn't currently meet it's mandate, It offers similar services as private broadcasters do, but it gets a 1.1 billion dollar head start on them. If they can't survive with private funds then it shouldn't exist.

[olp1fan]

Those things aren't even comparable. And Maple Syrup is absurdly expensive.

The CBC doesn't currently meet it's mandate, It offers similar services as private broadcasters do, but it gets a 1.1 billion dollar head start on them. If they can't survive with private funds then it shouldn't exist.

Cry some more about it, if you really believe in not wasting tax money

start with the politicians

[capricorn]

If they can't survive with private funds then it shouldn't exist.

The secrecy behind CBC (mis)spending is infuriating.

A CBC audit of a computer system that went $30 million over budget has been released, but it is mostly blank pages.

--

The pages that were released consist of a title page, table of contents and a list of people interviewed. All other information has been removed.

A Commons committee is currently examining the CBC's record when it comes to releasing information to the public through the Access to Information Act. CBC President Hubert Lacroix has said that "only a judge" can tell the state broadcaster what must be released to the public.

Currently, CBC is fighting the federal information commissioner in court to prevent the release of information. Lacroix has indicated that he will take this fight to Supreme Court in order to keep CBC's documents under wraps.

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Politics/2011/10/14/18827411.html

aargh

Sell! Sell!

[Vineon]

Takes quite a little country to prefer having no national broadcaster. Nothing surprising coming from Canadians however who would axe what little they have that actually makes a somewhat effort to encourage Canadian cultural products. No problem there for a population that cannot tell itself apart from Americans beyond naming hockey, tuques and 'stronger beer' (see that abomination that is the 'I Am Canadian' Molson commercial). Most countries spit on the idea that the market should alone dictate culture, especially in a globalised world ; that is why culture is usually left out of Free Trade agreements.

Should you count on CTV and the private sector to take over, I'm afraid all that'll be left of Canadian content will be the News... and perhaps Hockey Night in Canada now on TSN. What's alarming, is how little some people seem to care.

[Keepitsimple]

Cry some more about it, if you really believe in not wasting tax money

start with the politicians

For a young man, you seem very angry and upset with your country. Which other country seems to display a society and government that better reflects your vales?

[olp1fan]

For a young man, you seem very angry and upset with your country. Which other country seems to display a society and government that better reflects your vales?

This isn't even Canada anymore, its Harperland

[Shwa]

If they can't survive with private funds then it shouldn't exist.

Is that your final answer?

Because plenty of things "can't survive with private funds," like roads, national defence, General Motors...

If you didn't quite think it through, I'll understand.

Edited October 15, 2011 by Shwa

[cybercoma]

fire departments, street sweeping, garbage collection, street lights, snow removal, police services..........

[fellowtraveller]

fire departments, street sweeping, garbage collection, street lights, snow removal, police services..........

are you comparing these to the entertainment provided by the CBC or.....?

better comparators: magazines, hobbies, concerts, internet porn, CDs, sports events.... if the govt must be obliged to fund one source of entertainment, why not all?

[cybercoma]

No. I'm just adding to Shwa's list.

[cybercoma]

Those that would sell off the CBC don't care about Canada having the ability to define its own culture. They would have our media co-opted by the United States and sell our nationality to the highest bidder.

[Shwa]

are you comparing these to the entertainment provided by the CBC or.....?

better comparators: magazines, hobbies, concerts, internet porn, CDs, sports events.... if the govt must be obliged to fund one source of entertainment, why not all?

The government funds plenty of national publications.

The government sponsors or contributes to plenty of national arts programmes, the National Arts Centre for example.

The government sponsors plenty of sports, teams, sporting events, etc.

Any more?

[fellowtraveller]

The CBC cannot be sold for a more pratcical reason: nobody would buy it.

I don't object to its existence, I do object to having everybody pay for what only a small portion are entertained by. Nobody is watching. Turn it over to those genuinely excited by The Road to Avonlea and they can run it as they please and for whatever cost and revenue they can generate.

[fellowtraveller]

The government sponsors or contributes to plenty of national arts programmes, the National Arts Centre for example.

Yes, I'm sure several people in Ottawa love it.

[Shwa]

Yes, I'm sure several people in Ottawa love it.

I am sure they do as well as the millions of tourists over the years. But it was used as an example. As are national museums, parks, telecommunications services - all those 'entertainment' things the country owns.

[olp1fan]

The CBC cannot be sold for a more pratcical reason: nobody would buy it.

I don't object to its existence, I do object to having everybody pay for what only a small portion are entertained by. Nobody is watching. Turn it over to those genuinely excited by The Road to Avonlea and they can run it as they please and for whatever cost and revenue they can generate.

I object to paying taxes so scumbags like Harper, Baird and Clement can misappropriate the funds

and waste it

I guess neither of us will be satisfied

[bush_cheney2004]

Those that would sell off the CBC don't care about Canada having the ability to define its own culture. They would have our media co-opted by the United States and sell our nationality to the highest bidder.

Krikey...here come those tears again. Can't define a Canadian identity without crapping on the USA. Typical.

[cybercoma]

Krikey...here come those tears again. Can't define a Canadian identity without crapping on the USA. Typical.

Christ, do you know anything about Canada? For someone that spends so much time posting on this forum, you would think you would have a clue by now. The entire purpose of the CBC was to stem the tide of American media influencing Canadian culture. Since nearly our entire population lives along the Canada-US border, when people received radio and television signals over the air, it was deemed necessary to have an outlet for Canadian media to protect our national identity and thus our sovereignty. It's not crapping on the United States, it's a geographical reality.

[olp1fan]

Krikey...here come those tears again. Can't define a Canadian identity without crapping on the USA. Typical.

its true, without the cbc we'd be american