QUESTION PERIOD — Canadian Heritage
CBC/Radio-Canada
December 12, 2023
My question is for Senator Gold. This question was originally prepared for Minister St-Onge, but she ran out of time when she was here last week.
In the Canadian Heritage Committee in the House of Commons on November 30 and in an interview on December 4 with the media, Minister St-Onge stated that she intended to revisit and undertake a review of the mandate and mission of the CBC/Radio-Canada. Part of this was that she wanted to have a discussion with Canadians about this review.
So my questions are as follows: Can you elaborate on anything with respect to this review? What might this review involve? Will it be a fulsome review? Will all of the options for the CBC be examined as part of this review? Will our committee be involved?
Thank you. I regret that you weren’t able to ask the minister more directly. She is my member of Parliament.
I have every reason to be confident that the review will be a fulsome one. We all know the challenges that the media are facing. We also know — at least some of us believe — that the CBC continues to perform an important function across the country, especially in certain regions and certainly in the province of Quebec.
Notwithstanding the challenges the CBC is facing and the economic challenges all media are facing, the government intends to take the review seriously so as to better equip our public broadcaster to navigate the changing environment to continue to serve Canadians.
Thank you, senator.
When might we learn about the details of this review? Thank you.
I don’t have a specific answer for you, senator. A review of this kind on a matter this important deserves to be properly constructed, organized and implemented. I’m sure the minister will keep Canadians up to date as the process evolves.
