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In short, CBC/Radio-Canada should stop doing three quarters of what it still does, which any private broadcaster can do, and concentrate on what only it can do. To achieve this, my government will make changes to the Broadcasting Act to clarify and refocus the CBC/Radio-Canada mandate.

The second reform that I propose to implement is to get the CBC/Radio-Canada out of the advertising market. All private media outlets have had to make deep cuts and to lay off journalists by the hundreds in the past few years. Yet, after getting a head start with more than a billion dollars in taxpayers’ money, CBC/Radio-Canada unfairly competes with struggling private media in a shrinking advertisement market. To replace its revenues from advertisement, which amounted to about $250 million last year, the CBC/Radio-Canada will have to switch to the PBS/NPR model in the US and rely on sponsorships from corporations and foundations, as well as voluntary donations from its viewers and listeners. Of course, changes to the structure of CBC/Radio-Canada will also require changes to the Broadcasting Act.

There are several advantages to this. It will end the unfair competition with other media. It will ensure more quality programming by eliminating the need to constantly get higher ratings to sell advertising space. Instead of competing with private networks for a mass audience, CBC/Radio-Canada will be more responsive to the viewers willing to contribute to its unique programming. As for it its public subsidy, a Conservative government under my leadership will rescind the $150 million in additional annual funding announced by the current government. That will bring back public funding to $1 billion, as it was last year. My government will also review the remaining funding in light of the more focused mandate and structure I just discussed, and of the state of public finances after several years of runaway spending and deficits by the Trudeau government. I cannot give any arbitrary number today, but I assume that the taxpayers’ contribution will be lower than $1 billion.

My campaign is based on the principles of freedom, responsibility, fairness and respect. With my proposal, CBC/Radio-Canada will stop competing unfairly with private media, and will be more respectful of the taxpayers that help fund it. It will also become a more relevant public institution, helping to reinforce our culture and our national identity.