87.2 Canadian Broadcasting
Whereas, Canada and Canadians need a unifying national system of communication to preserve Canadian autonomy and sovereignty by maintaining and developing Canadian culture; and, Whereas, The Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) has been one of the principle means of exchanging ideas and information in both languages, English and French across the country; and,
Whereas, There have already been substantial reductions in the CBC’s budget which have forced the Corporation to cut services, so that further reductions in constant dollars would jeopardize its mandate; and,
Whereas, The CTV network has been obliged to curtail staff and therefore services at the national level due to lack of adequate financial support from individual member stations; and,
Whereas, Local artists and local programming need to be sustained and developed, not only for service to communities but also for the development of skills and talents which will serve national programs; and,
Whereas, The National Council of Women is in agreement with the general direction of the recommendations of the recent report of the Caplan Sauvageau Task Force on Broadcasting; therefore be it,
RESOLVED, That The National Council of Women of Canada urge the Government of Canada:
1. to provide financial support for good quality and sufficient quality of service throughout the broadcasting systems of the CBC, including the Northern Service, the International Service, as well as the radio and TV networks serving the more heavily populated centres of Canada;
2. To direct the CRTC that as a condition of licensing, private commercial stations across the country contribute funds on a percentage of earnings basis to ensure opportunity for the development of Canadian creative and artistic talent.