In response to the federal proposal on CBC/Radio-Canada, World Press Freedom Canada supports the continuation of a strong, editorially independent public broadcaster to provide Canadians with factual, balanced news coverage.

Liberal Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge has released a proposal that would substantially increase CBC’s funding while banning advertising during news and public-service broadcasts, and prevent CBC/Radio-Canada from charging subscription fees for its digital service.

There will be much debate about the future of the public broadcaster as the country heads into a federal election. Conservative Party of Canada Leader Pierre Poilievre vows to “defund” the English-language service while continuing support for Radio-Canada.

WPFC supports CBC News as a vital supplier of news and information across the country, especially at a time when the presence of traditional news media has shrunk, foreign governments engage brazenly in disinformation, and social media platforms are controlled by billionaire tech oligarchs.

As WPFC President Heather Bakken recently told a Senate hearing, CBC is the country’s most trafficked source of online news.

Public broadcasting must be viewed as a reliable source of news, as well as a platform for a national dialogue that keeps one end of the country informed about what the other end thinks and is doing.