Source : The Guardian

If Charlottetown city council has its way, Islanders might see more of Bruce Rainnie and Kevin (Boomer) Gallant.

Council is calling on the federal Heritage minister to restore CBC's supper-hour news program, formerly called Compass and Canada Now, to a one-hour program.

Council unanimously supported a resolution, moved by Coun. Mitchell Tweel, at its regular public monthly meeting Monday.

"There's a lot of great stories in this province and, through no fault of the reporters and staff of the CBC, they just can't get to any of them," Tweel said after the meeting.

Tweel said four years ago, the CBC's leadership cut the program to a half-hour and replaced the name Compass with Canada Now, part of a new one-hour local and national news package.

Hours before council passed the resolution, CBC launched its latest revamp complete with a new name - CBC News at 6. Recently, a CBC spokesperson said there were no immediate plans to expand to an hour.

Tweel said the CBC station in Charlottetown has been gutted of funding, resources and personnel over the years.

Prior to Compass becoming Canada Now there were fears P.E.I.'s supper-hour new program was going to be cancelled altogether, prompting a group to create the Save Compass Committee.

The broadcaster had cut $23 million from its national operations and cuts to programs like Compass were designed to save another $15 million and eliminate 14 positions in Charlottetown.

"The broadcast and print media play an indispensable role . . . we seem to have lost a way of life on P.E.I. because of a local program that was cut in half," Tweel said. "Islanders love their news and weather. Returning to one hour will give us depth."

The resolution was announced two weeks before a federal vote and Tweel said the timing was intentional.

Council may have been unanimous in its vote but not in its sentiment. Coun. Ken Gillis said he doesn't necessarily think restoring the one-hour news program is the way to go.

"Quite frankly, I like the half-hour program," he said. "You get all the news in a half- hour whereas the way it was before it was scattered (within the hour) between national and local news."

©  The Guardian