His ministers are tightly scripted, few decisions are made without first checking with the Prime Minister’s Office, and for maximum message control, the Prime Minister rarely answers more than a few questions from a group of hand-picked journalists.
That’s why it is so disturbing that Prime Minister Harper also chooses the leaders of our CBC, an antiquated practice of political patronage that needs reform, especially now.
As with most things, the prime minister is keen to control the media and how it portrays his government. It was no surprise when a senior PMO communications staff person left the Prime Minister’s side to run the Ottawa bureau of SUN TV. Some members of the parliamentary press gallery called it a PMO takeover, only half-jokingly.
It’s hard to imagine Harper setting aside his instinct for control when it comes to making appointments to the CBC. Faced with the opportunity, will Stephen Harper choose to exert more control over our public broadcaster to influence its policies and programs?
Or, will he accept the fundamental principle that public broadcasters must remain independent from government?
At stake could be the arm’s length relationship with the federal government that sets the CBC apart from state broadcasters in non-democratic countries.
This is a live issue right now because the term of the current CBC chair, Timothy Casgrain, expired this week.
On the eve of a recent long weekend when many were celebrating Easter and Passover, the government quietly published a notice of vacancy for the position.
For the first time, the government is requiring that the CBC chair get along with the Heritage minister. This has never before been a requisite quality in a CBC chair. The notice reads:
“The qualified candidate should possess the ability to develop and maintain effective relationships with the Corporation’s management, the Minister of Canadian Heritage, the Minister’s Office, the Deputy Minister of Canadian Heritage and the Corporation’s key stakeholders and partners.”
Why would the government insist that the next chair of the CBC be on good terms with his or her political bosses?
Especially when the government is attacking the CBC and cutting its budget, it could well be the case that the next chair of the CBC should be forcefully advancing the interests of our national public broadcaster with the government rather than cozying up to the minister.
For example, if the government wanted the CBC to take a particular slant on a news story or to sideline a journalistic investigation, it would be the responsibility of the CBC Chair to stand up to the government in defence of the CBC’s independence.
Because the CBC belongs to all of us and to help focus public attention on the need for reform, Friends of Canadian Broadcasting is launching today The People’s Pick for CBC Chair .
Friends is putting forward the names of eight accomplished and talented Canadians from all walks of life who could make a great contribution to the CBC as its Board Chair. You can review the qualifications of these great Canadians and “vote” for the person you would like to see in this job.
The candidates who have been selected by Friends are:
Herménégilde Chiasson, artist and former Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick
The Right Honourable Joe Clark, former Prime Minister of Canada
Jocelyn Coté-O’Hara, telecom and high technology businessperson; Member of the Order ofCanada
Ujjal Dosanjh, former Premier of British Columbia
John Doyle, Globe and Mail columnist
Ivan Fecan, retired media executive with the CBC, as director of television programming and CTV, as CEO
The Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, former Governor General ofCanadaand journalist
Mary Simon, National Inuit leader
Learn more about them and register your vote here until April 28.
The terms of almost half of the CBC’s board of directors – all of whom are appointed by the Prime Minister – expire this year.
To safeguard the CBC’s independence, these leadership appointments must be removed from the prime minister’s control (as is the case with most other modern public broadcasters around the world today) and the board – not the prime minister – should have the power to hire and fire the CBC’s president.
Original Article
Source: Star
Author: Ian Morrison
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