The unfortunate part of all this is that Stephen Harper once had as much of a problem with the CBC as the rest of us. In the name of political expediency and the retention of power he has softened his views. I think that the CBC is now more irrelevant and harmful to the Canadian state than at any time in its history. Time to cut the purse strings to the tax payer.

Fire them all, maybe Al Jazwerah or Sid Ryan will hire them

i agree . i do not watch enough news to be able to be as up to date as others but i do not think we should be bailing out the cbc.

What can we say? The CBC along with plenty of other government funded agencies have an addiction problem: public money. The public money is being creamed off every body’s Tax Account, so we are all making do with less so CBC and others can continue with their wasteful ways. This is done over the objection of many taxpayers.
I do not quite agree with your reference to Mr. Harper. The PM did not receive the mandate he sought to deal with issues as per his own preference. The election results show this. The opposition demonized him in the past, the NCC should avoid doing the samething.
Let’s show the public why it is a bad thing to comply with CBC’s request for extra funding. There should be plenty of fodder in the spending accounts of this corporate welfare recipient.

Couldn’t agree more.
What can we do to stop this madness.
Complete irresponsibility on CBC’s part & living a daydream in their own world.

I have said for years that the CBC should be weaned off of the public teat. If they could be sold that would be the best news, but, if not, let them know that their subsidy will be depleted to zero- 5%/year for 20 years. Unless the clamor from the public gets a lot louder this won’t happen, but it is nuts to subsidize an inefficient competitor while the private companies are struggling in survival mode because of the dearth of advertising revenue.
I am sure Stephen Harper would like to do something along these lines, but he still has to live with the reality of a minority government.

The CBC should not be involved in any endeavour the private industry can do better. That means no sports, no American or British series and no commercials. The CBC should only present programming that is considered culturally important but not commercially viable. This is especially true of CBC Radio 2!

As someone said “Serving Pap and drivel to the lowest common denominator is not why we have a public broadcaster.”

Take a page out of the NPR and PBS notebook! A much better end product at much lower cost.

One Billion subsidy is ridiculous - I can remember being angry when it was $50 Million and that was totally unjustified. What is Canada coming to when the taxpayers can be robbed by their own government to support a biased bunch of corporate welfare cases?

The CBC has long been a liberal propaganda machine, devoid of integrity and staffed by parasites incapable of holding real jobs.

FIRE
THEM
ALL

The CBC should be subject to a full financial and management audit.

It is so much a branch of the Liberal Party of Canada despite claiming to be non-partisan. It does not deserve another nickle of taxpayers money.

I concur with the views of the NCC.
In addition, I think that the CBC is a worse-than-useless drain on the economy: arrogant, dull, socialistic, propagandist. Most of the trash that they offer is embarrassing. However the Corporation does provide employment for “artists” most of whom, in my view, are incompetent.
The CBC must go.

the cbc is publicly owned and should represent the public in a equitable and fair manner .
the public is not wholy comprised of socialist ,enviromentalist ,feminist canadianophiles . it is also comprised of people that vote for the conservative government,dont nessessarily believe in global warming ,are not feminists and could not care , and are canadians but dont walk down the street playing a violin all the time

CBC should be operated much like PBS in the States, i.e. through private donations and not on taxpayers’ dollars.

If put to a Natoional vote, I beleve taxpayers and citizens alike would agree , as all respondants have here, including me, in the strongest possible terms.

I plan to begin a campaign of Letters to the Editors on all these kinds of abuses of our money. But not all of such information is published. What is the most reliable source of information?

I make it a religion not to ever watch the CBC it is so irrelevant, now or anytime would be a good time to sell it off or shut it down alltogether.
That would leave Canada with one less left wing broadcaster and that would be a good thing.

The CBC is one of the most parasitic of any of the “Crowns”. The drool and slobber they proffer as news is so biased, it would even make a Dipper blush.
The $1billion they now suck from the taxpayer teat is nothing short of scandalous. If the private networks can survive on their own, then the money now spent on the CBC would be better utilized on health care.

I quit watching CBC TV and listening to CBC Radio because they have far too much commercial advertising and station promotion, and too much by way of international documentary productions that very few people would care to watch, and they have far too little Canadian content … what happened to the former 60% Canadian content requirement?. Just think … no TV station in Canada carried the Vanier Cup university final football game! .. and the Grey Cup was carried only on the cable TV networks! Thus most Canadians across Canada were deprived of viewing these truly Canadian events.

There are many good comments herein about what to do with the CBC. My suggestion is that their TV and Radio frequencies should be cancelled at their next CRTC Renewal Hearings, and the organizations should be disbanded and terminated; their frequencies should be re-issued through a public auction conducted by the CRTC. I rest my case.

the CBC as is should be closed or made viewer sponsored like TVO or NPR and PBS is in the States and by this government but Harper is such a pandering quack as far I can tell.
That wouldn’t likely make them much less biased since “lefties” like to support public tv and radio but at least the taxpayers won’t be footing the bill for a commercially operating broadcasting company?
CBC has some good programs and is for all the public but shouldn’t under any circumstances be running tv or radio commercials while receiving public assistance, that’s my beef. That’;s called “Corporate Welfare” something that Harper has claimed to be against.

No wonder they (CBC) needs money..just look at the way they travel all around Canada and parts of the States on their shows…Market place and Rick Mercer..as we all know it’s easy to spend other peoples money…eh what? If I am not in error dind’t market place go to Europe in one of their recent shows.

NOW IS A GOOD TIME TO TOTALLY SCRAP THIS ORGANIZATION

CANCEL BONUSES IN FACT MAKE THE HEIRARCHY RETURN

PREVIOUSE BONUSES

The CBC is a left wing propaganda disgrace and deserves NO taxpayer dollars. KILL IT!

PJM

Why not give the CBC to the employees? That would end the subsidies and make them put something on the airways that someone would actually watch or listen to. It would also save the taxpayers a billion dollars or more a year. Maybe the few who do watch would come up with the money to support them and maybe not. But, one way or the other, Canada would be better off.

CBC is superior to all other TV-s as it reports in an unbiased manner.This work should be carried on for the benefit of Canadians.THE REMEDY:
1.Management and executives lowe their compensation. In fact they could if dedicated enough only work for expenses. Look at the thousand of volunteers working in hospitals today cheerfully serving the public good.
2. Solicit contributions from individuals and corporations to support, educational, cultural, and generally public interest subjects including enonomy and politics. Advertising could be reduced with PBS method of fund raising replacing this revenue.

If the PM had received a majority in the fall of 2008, things would change with this “State-Moneypit” and its Left-Liberal Agenda. That suits many in the Coalition-opposition led by Doucette, Layton and Ignatieff. Only with a strong mandate will things change at the CBC. I hope that Canadians will give Mr Harper that power to act on this matter in the next election.

It angers me that the CBC “dictates” that they represent the views of a majority of Canadians. They do not know what the word “balance” means. If they were balanced in all their reporting and if they were made to depend on the revenues from the market, then they could claim to represent Canadians. They owe all Canadians that much.

J D Burns
Peterborough, ON

Everybody that reads this blog should forward it to several of the CBC websites if for no other reason than to annoy them.

No more funds for CBC. It should be converted to the Public format supported by those who want it. The CRTC is another outdated and redundant buerocratic organization, cut it as well.

J. Smythe
Olds, Ab.

I think you may have made a typo.
The Feseral Goverment shuold not “tell” the CBC…..
I think the word we’re all looking for is “SELL”

Fire all of them.
Maybe the Liberal Party of Canada can hire them - they are just a propaganda machine anyway and we pay for this inept crowd.
Get rid of them and make that money available for meaningful projects for people who are losing jobs.

I agree that CBC should be supported nationally to provide programmes that unite Canada, and also programmes that show our heritage, as well as
those that present and support our contemporary artists. But I very strongly oppose the notion that CBC have a free (mostly leftist) hand in its overall concept. And as every company which is funded by the government,
I believe that CBC had a nice ride for many years that resulted in their being fiscally irresponsible, and I as a taxpayer am strongly opposed to
my money to be used to bail them out. As I said: Some support but show
what I get for my dollar.

The gov’t should just shut down the CBC TV. It is leftist organization that sucks on the taxes of hard working Canadiand. Off with their Heads

The CBC should be sold off as, for example, Air Canada was. The state does not need to own an airline or a tv/radio network.
It is a sacred cow that should be let go to survive on its own and to no longer be feeding at the Federal trough.

I FOR ONE DO NOT ONE MORE CENT OF MY TAX DOLLARS GOING TO THE BLOATED CBC. LETS SELL IT SO WE ALL CAN HAVE A LESS LIBERAL BIAS VIEW ON POLITICS. OUR PRIME MINISTER HAS HAD TO ENDURE ENOUGH FROM THIS BUNCH WITH THEIR SLANTED VIEWS AND UNKIND REMARKS.
FIRE THEM ALL.

There’s absolutely nothing on CBC that I have a remote interest in watching, yet I’m being forced to pay for it. The government is supposed to be protecting my rights, not stripping me of them.

I totally agree; send this to CBC to annoy and then start a campaign to prompt the gov’t to sell this biased corporation.

We do not need to publicly fund a broadcaster who follows it’s own agenda and who is not serving the greater public need.
I have said for years that we do not need the CBC.

DUMP THEM!!!

Don C

I support the “Fire all of them” croud. The CBC better hope their Liberals manage to get elected because the tax payers are more than ready to cut off funding them. The private sector would do a far better job and provide a superior service with any public fuds they were given.

It’s time to shut this money- sucking left wing institution down.
I’m tired of my tax money supporting this bunch. I gave up on CBC radio some time ago and I only watch CBC TV sports if they are not available on any other channel.

If the CBC gets dumped, where is Canada going to get future Governors-General from???

On a more serious note, something that many probably have not noticed, is that the CBC has spent millions of dollars setting up “repeater” broadcast stations on FM to blanket coverage of Canada, particularly in southern Ontario. CBC Toronto, CBL, left 740 AM, a “clear channel” (meaning virtually no interference, with very few other stations on the frequency anywhere in North America) and a strong 50,000 watt signal for 99.1 FM in Toronto, a frequency with lower allowed power than most other Toronto FM frequencies, most of which have signals broadcast from the CN Tower. The CBC’s premise to the CRTC to allow the switch to FM was that reception of 50,000 watt clear channel 740 was not considered “adequate” to serve southern Ontario.

The station that took over broadcasting on 740 boasts of regular daytime listeners from all over southern Ontario and beyond, with even more at night time (AM signals travel better/farther at night).

There are at least four “repeaters” of CBC Radio One that are well within the strong daytime signal of 740 AM in Toronto. These “repeaters” would not be required at all had the CBC stayed on 740.

In taking over many FM radio frequencies across the country, the CBC has managed to crowd out what could have been private stations from broadcasting.

It is only fair to note that SRC (CBC French service) in Toronto has stayed on 860 AM, which has the same characteristics as 740.

A sad fact is that in many markets, the CBC’s local transmitter has far more watts of power than the station has listeners.

So…let’s not get into the TV side of things.

I really do not like my tax dollars spent on an institution that, for the most part, exists to engineer society. Let the network stand on its own (if that is possible). If I we lived in China or Cuba I would understand the need for government to tell the citizens how to think. I am embarrassed with the content of the PEOPLES TELEVISION NETWORK (CBC)

Here’s a news flash for the CBC: If you produced a bias free product

Wait just a minute here ! ! If you want to talk about bias try watching CTV and CTV News channels. Harper’s personal purveyor of all that is Con.

sheesh

Given the proliferation of TV channels available throughout Canada via cable or satellite, the myth that Canadians do not have access to news is no longer valid.
If the CBC is as important as it thinks it is, it should be required to raise its funding via PBS style membership drives with the goverment matching proven revenues. If Canadians really want CBC then they will pony up the money; if they are happy with private broadcasters then CBC’s time has come.
While a case could be made for CBC Radio, it should be sliced off from the TV operation. CBC could sell its news to private broadcasters rather than run radio stations.
In addition, private tax-paying broadcasters wil not be disadvantaged in bidding for broadcast properties with a company - CBC - with no effective bottom line.
If CBC TV shut down, I doubt most Canadians would even notice once the activist’s shouts of indignation subsided.

Time for a plebesite on this issue. I want a vote and be able to say NO MORE FUNDING TO CBC! I never watch CBC other than HNC when my team is playing. Tired of the ‘welfare state of mind’ that CBC has developed and clings to. If they are that good, they should be able to stand on their own. The money saved not financing them could go to film development and Canadian film industry initiatives. (The Liberals will have to find a different vehicle to spread their propaganda.)

I agree completely with your comment on the CBC.

A M E N !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There are two “services” that I make every effort NOT to patronize:

1. CBC

2. Air Canada

It takes no effort to determine the several characteristics these two organizations share.

Among other things, both organizations think they are doing you a favour.

And, as Jeffrey Simpson (not usually a reference source for me) says: Air Canada’s unofficial motto is - “We’re not happy ’till you’re not happy”.

The same slogan could apply to the Liberal Party House Organ.

The CBC as an organization is typical of large unionized employers (North American auto companies also come to mind). The company is run for the benefit of the employees, and no amount of tinkering will ever solve the underlying problem.

The only viable solution is to disband the corporation and sell the broadcast license in time segments e.g. a bidder could purchase 500 hours of broadcast time in national and/or local markets over say, a two year period. Revenues from the sale of broadcast license “segments” could be used, over time, to retire the CBC’s accumulated debt.

The current annual CBC operating and capital subsidies should then be redirected for use as a source of matching funding (or some similar formula) for independent television program production. Those producers who demonstrate repeated sales of their programming to broadcasters, domestic and international, would continue to be eligible for funding.

The left wing cadre that makes up the overwhelming majority at the CBC think that those who disagree with them are liars, evil and stupid. Increasingly, this means the vast majority of Canadians are so regarded, and the CBC’s ratings are a mirror of the contempt that the network has for the people who actually pay the bills.

Shut down this money pit in our budget! E.I. will give those people more than they are worth.

I don’t know why that line was inserted into my comment above. I was saying “Amen,” to all the comments above - There isn’t much more to add and what do you mean by moderation. My comment was no less moderate than the rest of them! But thanks for the chance to say something!

It was embarrassing to hear Susan Bonner and Peter Mansbridge gush over Obama and then give us their leaned opinion about our PM ’s shortcomings. Get rid of the CBC.

If the CBC can’t stay on air, without public funding through the government, then, in the free market of ideas, it should be off air altogether.
Why should I pay taxes for something as irrelevant as the CBC: tlet those who watch or listen to it pay for it.

The CBC is a disgrace. Their reporting is shamefully bias and it’s atrocious to think that this is the sole news source for some Canadians. The last time I watched their news broadcast, I got so frustrated I turned them off and have refused to watch them since. Fire them all or make them exist without any federal funding. Although, I do suspect that the Liberal Party would slip them a few million in order to keep them going!

I agree with most of the previous comments - time to take serious action over the CBC in both content and cost/benefit. But likely the biases and attitudes are so ingrained that the only satisfactory solution is a complete makeover. And, as several of your correspondents suggest, the best way to accomplish that is to sell the whole organization to the private sector - and let them see what real competition is like.

It is time to close down CBC TV. People often like to talk about “privatizing” it, but who would want to buy a bloated on-air massively inefficient 1950’s style “TV network”. Production and distribution of TV in the 21st century has moved way beyond the dinosaur model that CBC still uses. The government should take it over and at least sell off the physical assets (including the needlessly expensive TV production palace that these people decided they required in downtown Toronto). Time to free this country from this seditious left wing propaganda machine that also costs the taxpayer an unessary $1 billion per year. The radio network might be retained if it could be purged of its’ political bias, however this is probably an impossible task.

We don’t need a publicly funded tv station, like we don’t need publicly funded newspapers, magazines or schools for that matter. Let people choose how they wish to educate themselves and their children. Any gov intervention simply leads to the necessity to cater to the lowest common denominator, as is evidenced by any and all of our public institutions.

I feel the CBC,if it is to remain a public corporation must remove itself from providing services in competition with private providers of the same service. Also since it uses public money it should only provide news coverage in a consistant neutral manner. If they continue to provide a left slant on their reporting, editorials and even their fiction programs. All public money must be removed. If they as important as they believe, there should be no problem selling advertising to support their programming. If not to bad, they have spent enough of our money promoting socialism with Canadians money who do not believe in socialism.

I do not have any use for the CBC. I ask that the central government please put down its guns pointing at me. I resent the use of force used to confiscate money from myself and other people against our will to benefit the CBC and other government interests.

Get rid of the Constantly Biased Corporation. Who needs it? I never watch it. When we are asked to offer suggestions to Mr. Harper for the budget I suggested scrapping the CBC and CHRC, Both are a complete waste of money. We know what happened: NOTHING! Whatever happened to SH Pres, of the NCC? Some time after Jan 2006 he went MIA. Maybe it is time to give Jason Kenney a chance. As far as I am concerned SH screwed up.

bI LIKE the CBC It is worth every penny and since the news isn’t subject to ” SPONSOR” control , it is more balanced. There is also more canadian content!!!!!!!!!!

I’ve read many of the comments and couldn’t find one that promoted CBC. I myself don’t watch their programs very often because the Board (or whoever is running it) are in the pockets of left-leaning politicians. In the least I would say, don’t support it with taxpayers money unless it reverts to only reporting true facts with no qualifying remarks of its own. Certainly, don’t increase what it is getting - everybody else is tightening their belts. Why not them, too?

Why oh why have we not put away the CBC TV long ago?Why should we all allow our money to be given to an organization that has no authority to put forth its comments against our government.There are many TV organizatios covering political parties at their own expense .No longer do we the public be called upon to support the CBC .

The CBC is right up there with equalization payments to Quebec when they don’t calculate Hydro Quebec’s income into the Quebec statement. The bilingual program where the population does not warrent it. The CBC needs to cut its operation to suit its revenues if it can’t do that then it should be reduced back to its original intention servings the true north sttrong and free. That’s all folks. Does our government have what it takes to do it?

I agree it is time for CBC to stand on their own feet or go by the wayside. They are very biais and get harder to listen to every day. They do not represent the true thoughts of all CANADIANS therefore should not be supported by our tax dollars.

It is a question of rational economics (if such a thing exists in our federal government, or in any government in Canada). These dire economic times dictate that we can no longer support non self-sustainable government sponsored agencies like the CBC. The only way to stimulate the economy is to leave more money in the pockets of hard working people.

The CBC’s “best before” date is long, long past. Discontinue it.

Since the CBC is primarily a booster for the Liberal Party, send the bill to the Liberals. OOP’s they haven’t any money either. Guess we have to shut it down.

Ron

The CBC has long since outlived its usefulness. Sell it or shut it down. To lose $ 1B/yr, net of advertising revenues, reflects a truly mind boggling level of incompetence. The Canadian taxpayer has had enough of it.

The CBC has good people and bad people, just like any other organization. What makes it different and dangerous is its culture of entitlement. The Border is an example of an excellent piece of work, and competes well on the world stage. Unfortunately there is a disproportionate amount of dreck that no one watches, listens to or cares about that we all pay for.

Let the CBC compete, like the other broadcasters. Oh and shut down the CRTC while you’re at it. It’s an old age home for fascists.

Couldn’t agree more with almost all of those blogs. The CBC is a disgrace to Canada and appears to be totally dominated by leftwing, socialist, feminist policy wonks. Nothing we viewers say seems to matter they just go along on their merry way. I am glad Stephen Harper has told them just to’cut’ costs. They are lucky to get away with that. I never look at their stuff because it is so bad. PBS, BBC, etc., are not perfect but 100% better than our homw grown pap.

Peter

I’ve been listening to all this rhetoric for years and yet nothing ever gets done in this damn stupid country. What a disgrace to the intelligence of the average Canadian who gives a damn…I have no use for ANY of the politicians in this country. They all lie and park their morals at the door once elected…

It’s about time that people and mainly taxpayers organized to eliminate the C.B.C. from any liability whatsoever from being subsidized by Government Funding. With their agenda and God like attitudes I’m sure that the vast majority , of Canadians, and all taxpayers will be more relieved than coming off a long constipation. You’ll be personally wealthier when it happens. Thanks. Stephen G. London, On.

Maybe you could edit the blog name National Citizens Coalition: NCC Blog to more generic for your content you write. I loved the the writing even sononetheless.