Blanchet says CBC cuts at worst possible time

The Bloc Québécois is continuing its fight against cutbacks at CBC/Radio-Canada. Tuesday in Question Period, BQ leader Yves-François Blanchet said this is the worst possible time for the public broadcaster to cut jobs. The job losses were announced Monday. In his reply, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government is concerned about media and culture in Canada. “That is why the government has taken concrete action to support media across the country, to invest in local journalism and to stand up against the web giants in favour of journalists and the work they do, which is essential to our democracy,” he stated in French. “For example, we were pleased to reach an agreement with Google regarding Bill C‑18.” Blanchet said the deal with the Alphabet Inc. subsidiary is grossly inadequate. Private media have already cut more than the $100 million it involves, he added. “CBC/Radio-Canada not only wants to dip into the $100 million from Google, but it also wants to cut French-language and regional services. On top of that, it wants to hand out bonuses,” he said according to a translation. “It is about time that CBC/Radio-Canada be held accountable before Parliament.” Trudeau used his reply to take a shot at the previous Conservative leader and, by extension, the current one. “One of the first decisions we made as a government was to cancel the Harper government's cuts to our public broadcaster. Supporting local news and journalists in this difficult juncture is exactly why we introduced Bill C‑18. “While the Leader of the Opposition rejoices as Canadian families are facing layoffs, we will continue to support local news and journalists in Canada,” the Prime Minister continued. The battle carried on later in Question Period between the BQ critic for Canadian Heritage and the minister responsible. “The media crisis that was affecting the private sector has now spread to the public broadcaster,” Martin Champoux stated according to a translation. “This will inevitably affect the quality of news. It will also affect our TV series and soaps and our ability to tell our own stories.” “I share my colleague's concerns regarding the future of CBC/Radio-Canada and our media in general,” Pascale St-Onge replied in French. “That is why our government worked to modernize the Broadcasting Act in order to implement new support measures for broadcasting across Canada.” Champoux asserted that Radio-Canada outperforms CBC in many genres from news and current affairs to series and soap operas. But it is taking an unfair level of job losses. “However, Radio‑Canada, which has fewer employees and higher viewership, is being cut just as much as CBC. If anyone wanted to sabotage the French network, that would be the way to do it,” he told the House of Commons. St-Onge pledged to stick up for CBC and Radio-Canada. “We invite management to be transparent about the situation and about upcoming decisions,” she stated. “For our part, we will work to ensure the public broadcaster's future and long-term survival.” — Reporting by Paul Park at ppark@thewirereport.ca and editing by Phalen Tynes-MacDonald at pcreed@thewirereport.ca

Blanchet says CBC cuts at worst possible time

Broadcast | December 6, 2023

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Blanchet says CBC cuts at worst possible time

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