Source: Ottawa Citizen

Also hints at opening CBC radio to ads to ease broadcaster's financial burden

Heritage Minister James Moore gave a spirited defence yesterday of $45 million in arts and culture cuts that backfired on the minority Conservative government in Quebec during the fall federal election.

He also hinted yesterday that commercial advertising on CBC Radio's One and Two networks are an option that needs to be considered if the public broadcaster needs extra cash to to dig itself out of a financial hole.

In a brief statement likely to outrage CBC radio listeners, Mr. Moore conceded to NDP MP Charlie Angus that the CBC is under "a lot of pressure" and suggested that the broadcaster is considering radio advertisements as a solution to its money problems.

"I would consider anything so long as the end result is to have a strong national broadcaster to serve Canadians," he told the all-party federal heritage committee. "We're working with CBC to get a full sense of the scale of the problems they have. We would work with them on any option."

In defence of the Tory spending cuts, Mr. Moore refused opposition demands for documents backing him up on grounds of cabinet secrecy.

He singled out Trade Routes, an arts and culture export subsidy program, which he said cost $5 million in administration to deliver $2 million in benefits to artists; a $3.8 million website called culture.ca that cost taxpayers $1.98 per web hit; $4 million to sustain television antennas in the north that will soon be unnecessary because of digital communications; and $13 million on the Canadian Memory Project, a digital archive that was successful and completed.

"These decisions were made in the best interests of taxpayers," Mr. Moore told the first post-election hearing by the House of Commons heritage committee.

Mr. Moore said he was prepared to justify "every single penny" of the cuts that were made under a strategic review in which the worst performing five per cent of programs would be eliminated and the money reallocated to more efficient and effective programs. But he declined repeated requests by Liberal and Bloc Québécois MPs for the economic analysis on which the cabinet made the cuts.

"We don't have proof to justify these cuts," said Liberal heritage critic Pablo Rodriguez, a Montreal MP. "We might think these are ideological cuts. Show us the documents."

Ian Morrison, spokesperson for the watchdog group Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, said Mr. Moore's statement about the possibility of CBC radio ads came as a "total surprise."

"In most western democracies," he said, "public radio is an oasis from commercials. It is designed to deliver programming to citizens not eyeballs to advertisers. If CBC radio needs more money to do its job, the government should give them that money. We thought this was part of the Conservatives' hidden agenda but it isn't so hidden any more."

Radio One and Two ads could generate up to $95 million a year, said Mr. Morrison.

CBC and its French-language service Radio-Canada, costs taxpayers about $1.1 billion annually.

© Ottawa Citizen

Related Documents:

Feb 11, 2009 — CBC News: Call-in program on possible ads on CBC Radio
FRIENDS spokesperson, Ian Morrison, takes part in a call-in radio show on the Conservative government's openness to allow the commercialization of CBC Radio. 

Feb 11, 2009 — Globe & Mail: CBC Radio ads not ruled out: Minister by Guy Dixon and James Bradshaw
NDP Heritage critic says Minister James Moore "revealed his government's inclination to support the introduction of commercials on CBC Radio."  

Feb 10, 2009 — Toronto Star: Minister suggests Ottawa open to CBC radio ads
FRIENDS says that if the government and CBC executives are considering putting ads on CBC Radio they can expect a firestorm of protest.

Feb 9, 2009 — House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage: Heritage Minster on the commercialization of the CBC
Responding to a question from Charlie Angus, the NDP Heritage Critic, Minister Moore says he would consider putting ads on CBC Radio.