According to the National Post the federal government has identified several crown corporations that it considers to be “not self-sustaining” and could be sold including Via Rail, the National Arts Centre and the CBC.
The crown asset review was signalled by the government last November in a budget update. The review is the first step in identifying assets that could be sold to help the government reduce it’s balooning deficit. Several crown holdings were touted for sale in the fall, but this is the first report of the CBC also being under review.
The Globe is reporting that selling the CBC is unlikely. This is simply an attempt by the government to be thorough. “Everything’s going to be included. We’re not going to exclude anything off the top,” a government source told the Globe. However the source added that it would be hard to imagine the CBC being sold.
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Sell it to Canwest!
Oh.
No, the government sure as hell better not get rid of the CBC. Pretty soon there won’t be any more of Canada to auction off and you can just call it an American suburb. My country Canada, the land, the people, the identity, is precious to me. I hold any government that does not uphold our sovereignity, our uniqueness, our value, in contempt. This country belongs to Canadians, not to the greedy power-hungry nabobs that profit off the hard work of others.
Save local news! Oh wait, that slogan is in use…
So I may as well point out that Parliament is not “self-sustaining” either. And yet nobody is talking about selling it.
(you wags at the back, no fair saying it has already been sold)
The criterion of “self-sustaining” for governmental units is itself a lie. There is no requirement or expectation that governmental units should be self-sustaining.
Bravo Stephen Downes. I salute you. And to all you ordinary working people who don’t think you count, who don’t think your opinion, your life, your well-being counts – in the words of Bob Marley – “Get up, stand up,” and also “Lively up yourself.”
What impact would this have on the CBC’s own plan to balance the books by selling assets? If said sales require government approval to proceed and for CBC to keep the proceeds, I can’t imagine that approval being easy to get.
That’s really the big underlying question here. Although I’m not sure one process would impact the other. Although the Heritage Minister has indicated he’s willing to be flexible in helping the CBC balance the books, it’s seems like an obvious concern.
I remain uninterested in seeing CBC suffer any of the Four Intolerable Fates: shutdown, further fiscal starvation, privatisation, and conversion to government propaganda arm.
You sound proud of yourself, Dwight Williams, for not caring what happens to the CBC. Perhaps you could enlighten us on what it is you do care about, so we can better understand that comment. Or perhaps you think this selling off of Canada and joining the American Military Machine is inevitable, no matter what Canadians want or do.
I don’t think that’s exactly what he means.
It seems to me that we have been quibbling about nickels and dimes when what is at stake here is Canadian Nationalism, which to me means having a country which is on the North American continent, but is distinct from the USA. Now, more than ever before, I think we can feel proud of our own nation as we watch the USA sink under the pressure of its own greed and flawed economic system of more means more, which has turned out to mean – uh-oh, we are in the hole and don’t have a clue how to get out. Stephen Harper wants to jump aboard that sinking ship and adopt their flawed policies, like their failed war on drugs. He doesn’t want us to feel proud about being different from Americans. Then it will be easier to push through the so-called Security and Prosperity Partnership, which is being planned in secret by the Bangsters. Corporate rule is coming, which trumps democracy, and has no conscience at all.
For not caring? Excuse me, Madeleine?
I thought I just ruled out wanting all of the possible Bad Things that could happen to CBC.
So. How did I say the exact opposite of what I intended and believed I said?
Kev: Thank you for understanding my intent.