Source: Winnipeg Free Press

THE Canadian Broadcasting Corp. is feeling fearful these days that its radio and television services may be in the sights of the federal Conservative government's budget-cutters in this time of financial restraint. In fact, supporters of the CBC believe that the Tories may use the excuse of the need for restraint to act out the animosity that many conservatives feel towards Mother Corp. and the network's alleged left-wing bias.

Heritage Minister James Moore has repeatedly assured Canadians that the CBC is safe, but that is not reassurance enough -- "There's more than one James Moore. He's a hydra-headed creature," warns a spokesman for Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, an organization devoted to the CBC.

And that may be true. Certainly there is not much love lost between Conservatives and the CBC, which can be a badge of honour for a national news medium if it's spread across the political spectrum. There can also be more than one meaning of the word "safe" and it is difficult to know yet which definition Mr. Moore is using. Is it safe in that the CBC is untouchable, or safe in the sense that you won't like this much but you will survive it?

In the worst-case scenario for the CBC that is being bandied about, the network would lose five or 10 per cent of its $1.16 billion in federal funding, which constitutes more than two-thirds of its annual budget. For that, the CBC entertains and informs 9.3 per cent of English TV viewers, 20 per cent of francophone viewers and 14.7 per cent of all radio listeners. If the CBC is the glue that's holding this country together, it's pretty thin and it can probably survive a little trimming.

In contrast, the British Broadcasting Corporation not only serves Britain but is relied on around the world. Last week, its employees learned they face a 20 per funding cut and 2,000 layoffs in the next five years. The BBC will survive and Britons will not lose their identity. If the CBC needs to thin its gruel, it will also survive and so will Canadians. In fact, the country might be better with a leaner, meaner news machine.

© Winnipeg Free Press