By Marion Bacon

The CBC has lost its way

Jan 15, 2019 | 8:23 AM

THE CBC RECEIVES $1.2 billion a year from the Canadian taxpayer — roughly two thirds of its budget.

The CBC’s mandate is to reflect our national consciousness and diversity. Given this mandate and the nature of its funding, it is incumbent upon the CBC to remain neutral in terms of political ideology. The CBC is not a privately-owned news organization possessing the luxury of an editorial slant, nor is it a state-run news agency designed to sell government policies.

I contend the CBC has lost its way and its equilibrium.

The CBC’s editorial viewpoint and news content is generally anti-business, and anti-development. Opinions of environmentalists and social activists are headlined and mostly go unchallenged. Gone are the days of dispassionate, probing questions. Gone are the days when outside qualified experts were called upon to provide insight. The news has become increasingly insular, wherein reporters interview reporters, who provide “expert analysis”. Gone, too, are the days when Canadians were celebrated, or allowed to feel good about themselves. I dearly miss CBC radio legend Peter Gzowski — our Captain Canada.

News is often reported without geopolitical context. I believe the CBC should do better than CNN and Fox, whose news coverage is blinkered at their borders. Although I personally find Mr. Trump abhorrent, he is not the cause of uncontrolled migration. It is the leaders of the lawless, corrupt countries these people are fleeing that are the true villains of the peace. If the CBC can’t resist the temptation of being righteous, perhaps they could focus their indignation in the proper direction.

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News is also reported without any historical context. Context is needed to inform opinions of past events. Much has been said to vilify Sir John A. MacDonald and his attitude towards Aboriginals. No question, he was very wrong, but the fact is, he lived in an era when there was little respect for any but the small ruling class. Wrongs were commonplace; women and minorities were thought intellectually incapable of voting, and children (100,000 between 1860 and 1948) were transported to Canada from Britain as indentured servants. Historical context can foster understanding, and sometimes, common ground.

Questioning is the role of good journalism, but there are certain closely held doctrines that are never opened to debate.

At the CBC:

• The IPCC is infallible.
• Green technologies are a sure bet.
• We can live without oil and oil derived products.
• Mining is bad… but batteries are good.
• Genetic Modification is always evil.
• Canada is short of water.
• Jordan Peterson is completely wrong. About everything.
• Conservative Canadians are as far on the right as American Republicans.

Though the CBC claims to support multiculturalism, the international news component of their broadcasts (excluding the Trump overdose) has declined steadily over the years. If you want to know what is happening in the country where you or your neighbour were born, try the BBC.

Remember the Syrian refugee crisis? It was featured for months in the BBC before it received any marked attention from the CBC. Oddly, CBC’s increased interest in Syrian welfare coincided with the eve of our last federal election, when it suddenly became the issue.

Provincial news has also been on the decline. I’m sure lots of interesting events, ideas and innovations occur right across our country. Listening to the CBC National News one begins to think the only occurrence of note in Manitoba is their yearly flood; in Nova Scotia, their violent storms; in Alberta, their defiling of the earth; and in Ontario, the desecration of all that is good at the hands of Doug Ford. Is this how the CBC fulfills its role of supporting our national identity?

Judging from the high frequency of news stories featuring specific groups of Canadians, one might think our demographics undergo violent shifts from year to year. In the last twelve months it appears we’ve experienced a First Nations population explosion, before that we were all transgendered, and before that we all suffered mental illnesses.

Increasingly it seems the CBC believes it’s their role to dictate what is important to Canadians, and to mold their opinions. I, for one, like unvarnished facts, to hear solid, intelligent, balanced debate that challenges my own understanding, so I can think and decide for myself. Being constantly beaten over the head by the CBC about their latest pet cause only gets my back up. Then I pause and take a breath; it’s not the actual subject of their news I’m annoyed with, it’s the unrelenting preaching of the messenger.

This is of course, my editorial opinion — but I don’t expect taxpayers to foot the bill.

Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.