It is amazing that with today's communication technologies the federal government is still thinks there is a need for a national television and radio broadcaster. Canada is ranked fifth in the world for broadband penetration with 69% of households having access to broadband internet (source). This allows these household to stream video and audio and have access to nearly unlimited data. Even Canadian without access to broadband are able to access the internet via local schools or libraries. Therefore we are able to receive news and entertainment from anyone and any organization online. The technology for Canadians to produce and distribute content around the world has never been so widely available or more affordable.
Yet the federal governments continue to fund the CBC which is increasingly irrelevant to Canadians (interesting to note that the CBC does not publish their ratings). Not only do the feds continue to fund this organization but the funding has increased from 1999 to 2009 at a rate of roughly 2.4% per year. In 2009 the total government funding reached a staggering $1,185,492,000.
As part of the required government cutbacks to eliminate the deficit, the Harper government must eliminate the funding for the CBC/Radio-Canada. They must also transfer ownership of the firm to any willing buyer in the private sector or to simply give every Canadian a share of the firm and have it trade on the TMX exchange. This will eliminate the potential for government patronage positions at the CBC.
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