By Harinder Mahil

Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre has stated that, if elected, he would defund the CBC leaving Radio-Canada intact. Earlier this year, he wrote on X: “I can’t wait to defund the CBC and sell off the headquarters for housing.” He also shared a link inviting his followers to the Conservative Party website to a petition calling on the federal government to end subsidies to the CBC.

What is Mr. Poilievre’s reason for taking this position? The answer can be obtained from the petition on the Conservative Party website. The last line of the petition reads: “… we call on this Liberal government to defund the CBC to save taxpayer dollars and ensure a free and competitive press in the Canadian media landscape.”

I note that this is not the first time a Canadian politician has called for defunding the CBC. Previously, Maxine Bernier, a former Conservative MP and Cabinet Minister in Stephen Harper’s government and presently the leader of the People’s Party of Canada, had made the same demand.

The right-wing lobby group Canadian Taxpayers Federation also has a petition on its website to defund the CBC. Their petition reads: “Taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to fund the CBC and other media organizations. We should be able to choose which organization we want to support with our own money.”

The mandate of Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC/Radio Canada) is to inform, enlighten and entertain, while contributing to the development of a shared national consciousness and identity and culture.  No other broadcaster in Canada has such a mandate.

An independent public broadcaster is a necessity for a thriving democracy, providing Canadians with shared access to high-quality local and national news and programming. The focus of private broadcasters is to make profits for their owners and shareholders. They are not interested in providing high-quality local or national news or in contributing to the development of a shared national consciousness and identity and culture. 

CBC serves the biggest news audience in Canada, providing local, national and international news, in English and French, on TV, radio, Web and mobile, from coast to coast to coast. No other media organization in the country does this. In fact, no other national media company has a station in the North or French-language stations outside Québec.

CBC’s 2024-25 budget is $1.38 billion. Government funding accounts for approximately 70 per cent of CBC/Radio-Canada’s budget, while the remainder of its funding comes from self-generated revenue including advertising.

A 2020 report showed Canada’s spending on public broadcasting to be just $33 per capita, $55 less than the global average. In the face of an evolving media landscape, the rise of digital platforms, and increased polarization, Canada needs to strengthen its public service media, not defund it.

The CBC serves as a crucial remedy to the growing blight of online disinformation, ensuring that diverse voices are heard, and news is fact-checked. Defunding the CBC would further allow digital media giants to deepen societal divisions. Strengthening the CBC is an investment in a more informed, connected, and strong Canada. 

In 2011, a study undertaken by Deloitte showed that CBC contributes $3.7 billion to the Canadian economy, a substantial return for a public investment of $1.1 billion. The study cites CBC’s contributions to local economies, a vibrant production sector, and creative clusters. The study also highlights CBC’s role as an innovator which pioneers innovative technologies that are later adopted by other broadcasters and the broader creative sector.

Does Mr. Poilievre care that Canadians do not want to defund the CBC. A recent poll reported by Toronto Star on November 30, 2024, shows that seventy-eight percent of Canadians want the CBC to continue. That includes 67 per cent of Canadians who identify as Conservatives.

In today’s world, unbiased reporting has become more important than ever before. With the rise of fake news and biased reporting, it is essential that media outlets maintain a high level of integrity in their reporting. Unbiased reporting is crucial to educate the public and allow them to form their own opinions based on factual information.

The push for reduced public spending on the CBC is not an attempt to save taxpayer dollars. It is a calculated move to advance a particular political ideology that would see private broadcasters take over all media outlets and further polarize our society. We can access the revenue we need to fund our public broadcaster properly by going after multinational corporations that do not pay a fair share of taxes.

 Harinder Mahil is a human rights activist and is secretary of Dr. Hari Sharma Foundation.