In an editorial in the National Post today Hubert Lacroix explained his frustration with the CRTC’s decision to exclude the CBC from carriage fees that stand to benefit private broadcasters.

We hear the CRTC chair state to the media that “there was just too much on the table to deal with in one sitting, so we decided to deal with the private broadcast system before turning to the public one.” Unfortunately, words said in a scrum will not fix our broken business model. The CRTC’s decision makes no commitment. We can only deal with what we know to be true, and that’s that we’ve been shut out. We are left with an advertising market under severe pressure, a 30-year history of stagnant public funding punctuated by periodic major cuts and a cost base that is increasing at 6.7% per year.

Over the last decade, my predecessor at CBC/Radio-Canada implemented permanent cost-reduction initiatives to generate $78-million in ongoing annual savings. Last year, I was forced to make cuts of $171-million, cancel programs and lay off nearly 10% of our workforce. This year, we’ve had to sell $155-million worth of assets to balance our budget — selling the furniture to pay the mortgage.

I think we can be forgiven for being a little skeptical of fine words and a little overheated at the thought of more delays. CBC/Radio-Canada’s business model is not sustainable. It would be irresponsible to suggest otherwise. One thing that our history proves is that words won’t fix our financing model.

	Email This Post
	The CRTC