5,000 signatures reached
To: Rémi Racine, Chairman of the CBC Board of Directors
Stop the CBC Fire Sale
Hockey Night in Canada. The Nature of Things. Royal Canadian Air Farce. The Kids in the Hall. North of 60. Mr. Dressup.
For over 70 years, the CBC has been producing original local and national broadcast programming that is quintessentially Canadian. The CBC has become a symbol of Canadian identity, building bridges across regions and provinces, and unifying us in all our diversity.
Why is this important?
Now, after years of funding cuts by the Conservative government, the CBC has announced that it is selling off all of its property and real estate across Canada. From Halifax to Vancouver, not a single office space will remain under the ownership of the CBC.
The Canadian Media Guild, CBC’s main union, is arguing that Canada’s public broadcaster is in danger of making “irreversible” cuts, threatening CBC’s role as a leading producer of original Canadian programming. [1]
The bad news started in 2011, when the Conservatives announced that the CBC budget would be cut by $115 million. Since 2008, 2,800 jobs have been lost, and another 1,600 will be cut by 2016.[2]
But there is still hope. The NDP, the Liberals, and the Green Party have all promised to restore funding to the CBC if elected.
We’re calling on CBC management to cancel the sell-off, while we work to elect a new government that will affirm and respect CBC’s mandate.
If we get 10,000 signatures, we will deliver this message to Marc Y. Lapierre, the CBC’s executive director of real estate services.
Sources:
[1] Media union raises alarm over CBC real estate sell off plans
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/media-union-raises-alarm-over-cbc-real-estate-sell-off-plans/article26506165/
[2] CBC Budget cut by 115 million over three years
http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/cbc-budget-cut-by-115m-over-3-years-1.1147096