Watching Conservative MP Dean Del Mastro lead a parliamentary committee’s probe into CBC’s handling of open-records requests, one might guess that he, like other conservatives, would favour cutting the public broadcaster’s $1.1 billion annual rake.
One would be wrong.
At Thursday’s sitting of the House of Commons Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics committee, Del Mastro told Quebecor president Pierre Karl Péladeau that his company’s coverage of the CBC was “courageous.”
Quebecor, of course, has lead an intensive editorial campaign to expose waste at CBC and its commentators on its Sun News Network call to defund the “state broadcaster” on a daily, nightly and sometimes hourly basis. Heritage Minister James Moore, a bête noire for Corp. deniers, is often chastised on-air for overseeing increases in CBC’s year-over-year funding.
After the hearing, I asked Del Mastro if he’d like to see the CBC defunded. He said no.
“Our government has been clear. We have no postion to defund the CBC.”
But did he, personally, favour a cut?
“No, in fact, I have a CBC affiliate in Peterborough that’s valued. It’s a private broadcaster, but it is valued.”
So there you go.
Passive voice alert. “It’s valued.”