The real case for defunding the CBC isn’t the one Pierre Poilievre is making
The case for reforming medicare is not so that we can get even with the doctors. Yet that – reform as vengeance – is essentially the basis of Pierre Poilievre’s campaign to defund the CBC. The CBC says things that conflict with Conservative Party dogma. Therefore, a Conservative government will take away its funding. It isn’t a lot more complicated than that.
Bias, of course, is just one of the criticisms commonly levelled at the CBC. Its programming is also said to be bad, and its viewers few. And broadly speaking, all three are true. But the same criticisms could be made of any broadcaster, public or private. The media generally lean left, not so much because of any overtly ideological agenda, but because progressivism better fits the needs of storytelling. “Villagers band together, defeat monster” is a great story. “Is there really a monster? Maybe it would be best to leave it alone” is not.
But even accepting these critiques does not make the case for defunding the public broadcaster. Bias might be dealt with by less drastic means. Poor quality and shrinking audience numbers might even be cited as arguments forThe real case for defunding the CBC has nothing to do with its defects, real or alleged. It is simply that it is no longer necessary.
It is perfectly possible to charge the CBC’s viewers a subscription fee, and if we can we should: for to go on paying for things with taxes that could be paid for in other ways leaves less for the things that can only be paid for with taxes.
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