QUESTION PERIOD — Justice
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
June 1, 2021
Honourable senators, my question is for the Leader of the Government. Leader, last month, a Federal Court judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by the CBC against the Conservative Party of Canada, a lawsuit which was launched during the last federal election campaign. The ruling found that the Conservative Party’s use of CBC material in its advertising was for an allowable purpose and was fair dealing. The lawsuit was dismissed with costs.
Leader, this was indeed a shameful waste of taxpayers’ dollars. It exposed the CBC’s obvious bias. How much has the CBC cost taxpayers for this? How much will the CBC pay the Conservative Party? Has anyone who was responsible for bringing forward this ridiculous lawsuit been fired from the CBC?
Honourable senators, I will be brief. I don’t know the answers to any of those questions. I will make some inquiries.
Thank you. I appreciate that. I trust we will have those answers shortly.
Leader, if no one at the CBC has been fired for this, how can we be sure the CBC won’t try this again during the next federal election campaign?
I thank the honourable senator for his question. The fact that a court has ruled one way or the other does not mean that the decisions that were taken, which were initially at the heart of it, were not worthy of a study or review by a court. The fact is that broadcasters have a right to protect their material. No one in this chamber would deny that nor argue that that right should be abandoned. The fact remains that our public broadcasters and, indeed, all of our broadcasters have a responsibility to follow the law and follow the rules.
The fact that a court rules otherwise — and I have every respect for the decisions of our courts — should not be taken to be anything other than our system of justice working as it should.
