Stop the Harper Conservative CBC Budget Cuts!

The Conservative government has begun a campaign against the CBC. Consider this pattern of behavior.

It starts with a broken promise:

Heritage Minister James Moore recently announced upcoming cuts of up to $110 Million to the CBC.

This is completely contrary to the promises he made prior to the election. “We made a simple, specific promise to Canadians in the last election to maintain or increase funding to the CBC,” Mr. Moore said in February. It didn’t take him long to break his promise to Canadians. Last month he announced a 5% cut to CBC’s budget, this month he is announcing it’s 10%. Who knows how much further Harper’s Conservatives will go.

Next, they surveyed Conservative donors on what they thought about the CBC’s funding:

Conservative fundraising chair Irving Gerstein distributed a 10 question survey entitled the “National Critical Issues Survey”. They ask donors to help set the priorities for the fall and 2012. One of the questions was whether Conservative donors are getting “good” or “bad value” for the CBC’s funding.

And, finally, Conservative MPs are distributing a petition to defund the CBC:

Conservative MPs Rob Anders, Brad Trost and Ed Holder are collecting names from their supporters and fellow MPs for a petition to defund the CBC. Conservative MP Rob Anders recently said defunding the CBC “is well in order, absolutely”. See the petition here.

The evidence is clear: the Conservatives are using the CBC as a scapegoat for their budget deficits and are breaking their election promise to continue their funding.

Canadians will not stand for this attack on this cherished public broadcaster. That’s why we have launched a petition. Together, we can tell the Conservative government that we won’t stand by while they break their promises and cut the CBC.

Show your support for the CBC and sign the Hands off our CBC petition!

And while you’re at it, please post it on your Facebook account, tweet it or forward it to your friends and family.