From Avaaz: Save the CBC
OK … let the petitioning and Facebook pages begin, but nothing’s going to change until we get rid of the Cons.
Amid several beefs about this situation is the simple fact that the Cons (with the support of the Liberals) are spending billions of OUR DOLLARS on tax cuts and enriching the upper class, but when they promise to create jobs, this is how they respond: by cutting more jobs.
Here’s a copy/paste from the latest effort of Avaaz. Please act.
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Dear friends,
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Our government is forcing the CBC to drastically cut 800 staff and programming. We urgently need a massive public outcry to Save the CBC: |
Canada’s media networks have all been slammed by the recession. But the government is reportedly considering bailouts for its friends at private companies CTV and CanWest, while forcing the CBC to drastically cut 800 staff and programming.
Our CBC is a national treasure , and a pillar of public-interest journalism in a country whose media is owned by a few large firms. We won’t hear an outcry from their media outlets, and the CBC is too principled to use its megaphone to make the case for itself. We are the only voice the CBC has.
We urgently need a massive public outcry to Save the CBC , click below to sign the petition and forward this email to everyone who might care about this:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/save_the_cbc
The petition will be delivered directly to the government , through Parliament, ads, and spectacular stunts such as an airplane pulling a giant Save the CBC banner over parliament. In each case the number of signatures on the petition will be crucial to the effectiveness of the campaign, so let’s get as many people as possible to sign.
The CBC is facing a budget shortfall that amounts to just $6 per Canadian , but its request to the government for a bridging loan to cover this was denied. The deep cuts the CBC is making will damage the organization across the board, and they will not be the last. If we don’t stand up for the CBC now, it stands to die a death by a thousand cuts. Harper’s minority government is politically vulnerable and falling in the polls – public outrage could turn the government around on this, but it has to happen now. Let’s move quickly.
With hope,
Ricken, Iain, Graziela, Paula, Brett, Alice, Paul, Ben, Milena, Veronique and the whole Avaaz team.
PS – here are some links for more info on this:
The Star reports on how opposition parties accuse Harper of using the recession as an excuse to gut the CBC:
http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/608591
Union says Harper government strangling CBC:
http://www.cjad.com/news/565/899819
Ian Morrison: Stephen Harper’s hidden agenda for the CBC:
http://www.straight.com/article-206164/ian-morrison-stephen-harper%3F%3Fs-hidden-agenda-cbc
A crisis of identity – A reader letter to the Globe and Mail:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20090327.COLETTS27-1/TPStory/Comment