(Saguenay) Having completed the review of the mandate of CBC and Radio-Canada by the next federal elections is a bold deadline in the eyes of the MP responsible for this file in the Bloc ranks, Martin Champoux.
“It’s audacious to think that it’s going to be done easily. It won’t happen easily,” the elected official told La Presse Canadienne during an interview given on the sidelines of the Bloc Québécois caucus retreat in Saguenay.
In an end-of-year interview, Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge said she was aiming for this deadline in order to protect the public broadcaster against a possible change of government in Ottawa.
Mr. Champoux also appears determined that the matter will be “settled” by the time Canadians are called back to the polls, but he does not believe that this will be an easy task.
“Because if the Conservatives take power, I don’t think that the decisions of this government will go in the direction of what we see as the need to have a healthy public broadcaster,” he said. for follow-up.
However, he expects that the vision of the Conservatives, which he presents as being at odds with that of the Bloc, will hinder the achievement of this deadline. He gives as an example the way in which Pierre Poilievre’s troops expressed their opposition to C-11, the adoption of which aims to reform the Broadcasting Act.
“All possible maneuvers to stretch time, to block the work, to “filibuster” in committee, the multiple amendments that we had to debate for more or less time,” he listed.
The Conservatives have promised to defund the CBC and turn its Toronto headquarters into housing. The Conservatives also promise to maintain French programming on Radio-Canada.
Mr. Champoux suggests that it cannot be taken for granted that the next federal election will necessarily take place in the fall of 2025.
“I find that it is a bet that is quite daring to set the objective of resolving the question of Radio-Canada’s mandate in such an uncertain future. »
The Bloc heritage spokesperson makes it a priority to ensure, during the review of the public broadcaster’s mandate, better protection of regional information.
“Because, currently, I have the impression that everything that is done in terms of budgetary restrictions or budget cuts is done to the detriment of information in the regions,” he said. Media coverage is increasingly coming from areas larger than regions. »
He also believes that the question of financing the state corporation must be part of the discussion.
“Are we still allowing Radio-Canada to participate so much in sharing the advertising pie? Are we letting Radio-Canada continue to charge subscriptions for services for which people feel they are already paying through their taxes? » he wondered aloud.
CBC/Radio-Canada’s annual report for the 2022-2023 fiscal year shows the public broadcaster received nearly $1.3 billion in government funding, and pulled in $515 million in other revenues such as advertising.
At the beginning of December, the president and CEO of the public broadcaster, Catherine Tait, announced the upcoming cuts of 600 jobs and the abolition of 200 vacant positions, or nearly 10% of the workforce.
Mme Tait is expected next Tuesday before the elected representatives of the Heritage Committee, of which Mr. Champoux is a member.
In announcing its cuts, the broadcaster’s senior management said it took into account that its public funding would be cut by 3%, or approximately the savings that Ottawa said it was targeting in its last budget from certain ministries and state corporations.
Minister St-Onge clarified that there has not yet been a decision as to whether such a budgetary effort will be requested from CBC and Radio-Canada.
Mr. Champoux said he was open to an exemption for them, but he believes that “in return”, the public broadcaster should be ready to compromise, such as giving up its share of the 100 million promised by Google to a media collective, capped at 7%.
“I would like Radio-Canada Canada to arrive and say “well, look, we understand that the reality is much more serious in smaller media which would need to share the seven million which will not do much for us »,” he argued.
The 100 million must be paid by Google to the media under the Online News Act.