Letter writers defend the CBC against federal Conservative plans to defund it and note the Regina election turnout is still troubling.
For one thing, the CBC’s mandate requires it to be “predominantly and distinctively Canadian” while contributing “to a shared national consciousness and identity.”
Given the vastness of our land and the fact that one Canadian in four was born outside our country, the CBC’s programs matter, especially when it comes to the news.
Conservatives should love CBC news, which has to “reflect Canada and its regions to national and regional audiences, while serving the special needs of those regions.”
The Conservatives know how crucial this is because social media has taken the lion’s share of advertising dollars, causing small-town newspapers to close and even the Leader-Post to shrink.
Next, the Conservatives are far too honourable to defund the diligent reporting and rational analysis of the CBC news. They’re definitely unafraid of answering incisive questions, although Mr. Poilievre once munched on an apple rather than doing so.
The CBC hires professional journalists who must follow its journalistic standards and practices. To enforce these, the CBC has an ombudsman to field complaints, and it publishes retractions when it makes mistakes.
Such safeguards contrast with the soulless algorithms and rage ranching of social media.
Maybe it’s a matter of cost saving and transparency. However, the CBC earns money through advertising and royalties, and publishes quarterly reports. It currently costs each of us about $3 per month. This seems cheap to me, and Conservatives love a good bargain.
If you care about the CBC, too, and want to know why Conservatives are so eager to defund such a valuable national institution, ask your honourable MP.
Bob Davies, Regina
Civic voter turnout bad
The math, now corrected to a 24 per cent increase, certainly look better than five per cent, but we should not pat ourselves on the back. Our new mayor was elected with 31.5 per cent of the 52,949 votes cast — a paltry 16,508 out of 204,832 eligible voters (eight per cent).
The city still has “a ways to go,” as returning officer Jim Nicol suggested. Nicol does not suggest what ways he might have in mind to increase voter turnout in 2028, but it will be interesting to see how civic leadership tackles this daunting challenge.
Gordon Hubbard, Regina
Share your views
The Leader-Post welcomes letters to the editor.
• Letters should be limited to no more than 250 words.
• Include your full name, address, phone number and home community so we can verify your identity. Only your name and community will be published.
• Emailed letters are preferred but they can also be sent to 300-1964 Park St., Regina, Sask., S4N 7M5
The Regina Leader-Post has created an Afternoon Headlines newsletter that can be delivered daily to your inbox so you are up to date with the most vital news of the day. Click here to subscribe.
With some online platforms blocking access to the journalism upon which you depend, our website is your destination for up-to-the-minute news, so make sure to bookmark leaderpost.com and sign up for our newsletters so we can keep you informed. Click here to subscribe.