A safety inspector in the Yukon is suing the CBC for publishing what he says is a malicious and professionally damaging attack on its web comment board. According to The Canadian Press, Robert Scott's weight, his competence and his credibility all come under fire in the post, which he says in his statement of claim clearly breaks the national broadcaster's own guidelines. The post names Scott and another man. The other man has not filed a defamation suit.
Scott says his ''ability to work in this community has been severely affected by these libelous statements,'' and he is suing the CBC for $125,000, plus legal expenses and interest. Scott works for the occupational health and safety branch of the Workers Compensation Board. He filed the claim after someone with the user name “BCHimself” posted a long comment on a story about workplace safety charges laid against Procon Mining and Tunnelling. (WCxKit).
Read the full story.
cbcexposed is all about exposing the waste of the CBC ... over 1 billion dollars a year of taxpayer money funds the cbc and a lot of that taxpayer money is wasted.
Suzuki's political endorsement appears to break CBC rules
Despite CBC ethics rules that appear to be to the contrary, environmental activist and CBC host David Suzuki is lending his star power to a political race.
On the CBC this week, he offered his support to Liberal leadership candidate Joyce Murray.
The CBC has a rule that on-air personalities, both freelance and full-time, remain politically neutral and never endorse political candidates.
Read the full story.
On the CBC this week, he offered his support to Liberal leadership candidate Joyce Murray.
The CBC has a rule that on-air personalities, both freelance and full-time, remain politically neutral and never endorse political candidates.
Read the full story.
CBC wasted close to a million dollars on a movie it will never broadcast ...
CBC wasted close to a million dollars on a movie it will never broadcast, but don't expect the state broadcaster to cough up details.
"Yes, we were involved in the early development of Mulroney: The Opera. But as usual with our program development projects, we don't make those expenditures public," said CBC spokesman Jeff Keay.
Asked directly about claims from inside the film industry that CBC spent close to $1 million of taxpayers' money, the state broadcaster again refused to release any details.
Read the full story.
"Yes, we were involved in the early development of Mulroney: The Opera. But as usual with our program development projects, we don't make those expenditures public," said CBC spokesman Jeff Keay.
Asked directly about claims from inside the film industry that CBC spent close to $1 million of taxpayers' money, the state broadcaster again refused to release any details.
Read the full story.
RCMP officer sues CBC for libel
The RCMP officer who fired his Taser at Robert Dziekanski at Vancouver’s airport the night the Polish immigrant died has filed a libel lawsuit against the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
In a writ of summons filed in B.C. Supreme Court, Const. Kwesi Millington asks for damages from the CBC and claims the network’s publications and broadcasts have defamed him.
Read the full story.
In a writ of summons filed in B.C. Supreme Court, Const. Kwesi Millington asks for damages from the CBC and claims the network’s publications and broadcasts have defamed him.
Read the full story.
NDP draws fire over CBC conflict of interest
One of the NDP's strongest advocates for the CBC is being paid tens of thousands of dollars a year by the state broadcaster while voting on the CBC's funding and debating its future.
Liberal and Conservative MPs now say NDP MP Andrew Cash should resign his position on the House of Commons heritage committee for violating conflict of interest rules.
Read the full story.
Liberal and Conservative MPs now say NDP MP Andrew Cash should resign his position on the House of Commons heritage committee for violating conflict of interest rules.
Read the full story.
CBC sued for defamation in raid story
COMMUNITY activist Sel Burrows said he won't stop his crime-fighting efforts after he and the CBC were hit with a defamation suit by two local business people.
Burrows and the CBC are being sued for defamation by businesswomen Sandra Guiboche and Amanda Rouse for a television news report that aired in June about a Winnipeg police raid on a drug house in Point Douglas.
The statement of claim states that the CBC portrayed Guiboche as "involved in the trafficking of illegal drugs and that she was an active member of an organized crime family that was the scourge of the neighbourhood in Point Douglas."
Read the full story.
Burrows and the CBC are being sued for defamation by businesswomen Sandra Guiboche and Amanda Rouse for a television news report that aired in June about a Winnipeg police raid on a drug house in Point Douglas.
The statement of claim states that the CBC portrayed Guiboche as "involved in the trafficking of illegal drugs and that she was an active member of an organized crime family that was the scourge of the neighbourhood in Point Douglas."
Read the full story.
Ottawa wants to amend laws protecting CBC ...
Unimpressed with the CBC's explanations regarding its financial accountability and handling of access to information requests, Conservatives indicated Thursday they may look at amending a law that exempts the broadcaster from disclosing certain information - potentially even things like news anchor Peter Mansbridge's salary.
Read the full story.
Read the full story.
Quit Complaining, CBC, and Prove Your Worth
I went to the Toronto Star's vapid "Whither the CBC" discussion at the Toronto Reference Library on Monday.
Only interesting part was a catfight between the CBC's investigative reporter Linden MacIntyre (pushing his book Why Men Lie), and the infamous former CBC vice-president Richard Stursberg (pushing his book, Tower of Babble).
Audience questions were cut off before I could get to the microphone, so my plan to electrify the place by telling them how to save the CBC and, as a consequence, rescue Canadian democracy, never got aired.
I wanted to say there's no longer any real doubt that the CBC has passed its point of no return. That it's so hated and so maligned by so many powerful, political, and financial foes that -- whatever its remaining virtues -- it's impossible for it to survive in anything like its present form.
Read the full story.
Only interesting part was a catfight between the CBC's investigative reporter Linden MacIntyre (pushing his book Why Men Lie), and the infamous former CBC vice-president Richard Stursberg (pushing his book, Tower of Babble).
Audience questions were cut off before I could get to the microphone, so my plan to electrify the place by telling them how to save the CBC and, as a consequence, rescue Canadian democracy, never got aired.
I wanted to say there's no longer any real doubt that the CBC has passed its point of no return. That it's so hated and so maligned by so many powerful, political, and financial foes that -- whatever its remaining virtues -- it's impossible for it to survive in anything like its present form.
Read the full story.
Mansbridge says CBC Criticism 'Part Of The Package'
CBC's Peter Mansbridge says having criticisms levelled at the beleaguered network is nothing new, and a recent barrage from federal politicians, media rivals and ordinary citizens is "part of the package."
"Canadians own the CBC, they have every right to make those feelings known and to challenge us whenever they can and we should take some pride in the fact that they do," says Mansbridge.
Read the full story.
"Canadians own the CBC, they have every right to make those feelings known and to challenge us whenever they can and we should take some pride in the fact that they do," says Mansbridge.
Read the full story.
NDP heritage critic says the bill is an attack on the CBC
The CBC remains opaque even as a bill aiming to make it more transparent weaves its way through Parliament.
The publicly funded broadcaster has a poor track record of disclosing information and a nasty habit of hiding behind one clause of the Access to Information Act that allows it to withhold info it feels would compromise its journalistic integrity, creativity or programming activities.
Tory MP Brent Rathgeber believes the broadcaster abuses that clause and his private member's bill C-461 aims to change that.
Asked for information on the expenses of an executive meeting in Montreal - accommodation, food, entertainment - the broadcaster provided accommodation expenses but withheld food and other costs, citing that section.
Rathgeber says this isn't transparent, but the NDP heritage critic says the bill is an attack on the CBC.
Read the full story.
The publicly funded broadcaster has a poor track record of disclosing information and a nasty habit of hiding behind one clause of the Access to Information Act that allows it to withhold info it feels would compromise its journalistic integrity, creativity or programming activities.
Tory MP Brent Rathgeber believes the broadcaster abuses that clause and his private member's bill C-461 aims to change that.
Asked for information on the expenses of an executive meeting in Montreal - accommodation, food, entertainment - the broadcaster provided accommodation expenses but withheld food and other costs, citing that section.
Rathgeber says this isn't transparent, but the NDP heritage critic says the bill is an attack on the CBC.
Read the full story.
CBC's active suppression of the news ...
This is a story about the active suppression of the news at the CBC, as provided by three corroborating first hand incidents of the past 30 months, involving Susan Bonner (would-be champion of the truth), CBC Radio (ditto/not so) and the the CBC’s The National (not so).
Read the full story.
Read the full story.
Will the CBC Follow in the BBC's Footsteps?
Across the Atlantic Ocean, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), world's oldest, largest and most respected broadcaster of journalism, is busy destroying itself. The ripples could stretch all the way across the pond to affect Canadian broadcast journalism too.
For the past 90 years the BBC has set the journalistic standard for all the world's public broadcasters. Including our very own CBC which is based on exactly the same public service principles as the venerable Brit.
Things are so bad there (BBC) that one of its veteran journalists, David Dimbleby, publicly talks of bloated management and a culture of "gobbledegook."
Sadly, all this sounds a bit like our very own CBC with its own bloated management, gobbledegook, filling in of forms, and platforms and genres, and need of structural overhaul "and goodness knows what."
Read the full story.
For the past 90 years the BBC has set the journalistic standard for all the world's public broadcasters. Including our very own CBC which is based on exactly the same public service principles as the venerable Brit.
Things are so bad there (BBC) that one of its veteran journalists, David Dimbleby, publicly talks of bloated management and a culture of "gobbledegook."
Sadly, all this sounds a bit like our very own CBC with its own bloated management, gobbledegook, filling in of forms, and platforms and genres, and need of structural overhaul "and goodness knows what."
Read the full story.
CBC - sexual harassment in the federal workplace
Conservative MP Joan Crockatt has already expressed interest in calling CBC before the Status of Women committee that is studying sexual harassment in the federal workplace. They have already heard from the RCMP, Canada Post, Corrections Canada and several unions.
Now the NDP says they are interested in hearing from CBC as well.
Read the full story.
Now the NDP says they are interested in hearing from CBC as well.
Read the full story.
CBC CEO Hubert Lacroix gets a personal driver
Not only do we give CBC CEO Hubert Lacroix a very nice salary somewhere between $358,400 and $421,600, he also gets his own $34,000 – $56,500 paid chauffeur on our dime.
On top of his salary, Lacroix expensed just under $30,000 last year adding to the total of $180,000 in expenses since 2008.
Read the full story.
On top of his salary, Lacroix expensed just under $30,000 last year adding to the total of $180,000 in expenses since 2008.
Read the full story.
Unbiased? CBC’s Peter Mansbridge Responds Gleefully to Liberal Victory ...
As you watched the results of Parliamentary vote on the budget and heard the CBC’s Mansbridge crack jokes and laugh at his own knee-slappers, did you imagine how he would have sounded if the Liberals had lost?
The question is whether his reaction betrayed a partisan bias once again.
Of course it did. Any CBCer who denies it is lying to your face.
Of course he has the right to laugh and joke. The question is whether the CBC’s leading public figure is a political partisan.
Read the full story.
The question is whether his reaction betrayed a partisan bias once again.
Of course it did. Any CBCer who denies it is lying to your face.
Of course he has the right to laugh and joke. The question is whether the CBC’s leading public figure is a political partisan.
Read the full story.
What is the nature of the complaints at CBC?
CBC loves to ask questions but the state broadcaster's president Hubert Lacroix has shown once again that he hates taking them.
Lacroix was asked about a release of documents - some 1,454 pages - related to harassment and inappropriate behaviour in just two CBC offices in Ottawa and Toronto.
That is a staggering amount of paperwork for just two offices of the state broadcaster. Unfortunately, most of the information was blacked out. One revealing e-mail, though, showed this was not all about one or two cases.
"Too many cases and I'm getting them mixed up in my mind," wrote an undisclosed employee to a CBC HR manager.
What is the nature of the complaints at CBC? Are we talking about inappropriate jokes or sexual harassment?
How much are taxpayers on the hook for when CBC reaches a settlement? That would tell us how serious these issues are.
Read the full story.
Lacroix was asked about a release of documents - some 1,454 pages - related to harassment and inappropriate behaviour in just two CBC offices in Ottawa and Toronto.
That is a staggering amount of paperwork for just two offices of the state broadcaster. Unfortunately, most of the information was blacked out. One revealing e-mail, though, showed this was not all about one or two cases.
"Too many cases and I'm getting them mixed up in my mind," wrote an undisclosed employee to a CBC HR manager.
What is the nature of the complaints at CBC? Are we talking about inappropriate jokes or sexual harassment?
How much are taxpayers on the hook for when CBC reaches a settlement? That would tell us how serious these issues are.
Read the full story.
CBC mum on harassment payouts
You may pay the bill for harassment complaints filed against the CBC by their employees, but the state broadcaster has decided taxpayers don`t need to know how much money is being used to settle these complaints.
A request filed through the Access to Information system seeking the amount of money CBC paid out for harassment claims in the first six months of this year returned several pages of invoices - some completely blank - but no details on what was paid out.
Read the full story.
A request filed through the Access to Information system seeking the amount of money CBC paid out for harassment claims in the first six months of this year returned several pages of invoices - some completely blank - but no details on what was paid out.
Read the full story.
CBC ombudsman slams CBC
The CBC's own watchdog has found reporting on Israel by the state broadcaster did not meet values of accuracy, balance, and impartiality. Eric Duhaime joined Krista Erickson to discuss.
Vic Toews slams CBC ...
Vic Toews slams CBC for refusing to ID illegal immigrants, suspected war criminals.
Here's the video.
"CBC coverage has left the impression that we've been hiding something,"
Scouts Canada is keeping its options open when it comes to taking legal action against the CBC for a report alleging it kept a confidential list of suspected pedophiles within the organization.
Chief commissioner Steve Kent, also the MHA for Mount Pearl North, denied the allegation again Friday, saying the organization feels elements of "The Fifth Estate" report which aired a few weeks ago were misleading.
"The most unfortunate part is that some of the CBC coverage has left the impression that we've been hiding something," Kent said.
Read the full story.
Chief commissioner Steve Kent, also the MHA for Mount Pearl North, denied the allegation again Friday, saying the organization feels elements of "The Fifth Estate" report which aired a few weeks ago were misleading.
"The most unfortunate part is that some of the CBC coverage has left the impression that we've been hiding something," Kent said.
Read the full story.
CBCexposed - CBC looks to bend the rules - again
The CBC is hoping the federal broadcast regulator will once again allow it to bend the rules and avoid spending money on television signal improvements its private sector rivals have already made.
Despite getting $1 billion dollars a year from taxpayers, CBC executives say they can't afford the cost of replacing about 22 analog transmitters with digital television transmitters.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) had already given the CBC an extension on upgrading to digital transmitters. CTV, Global and other private sector broadcasters had already made the investment forced upon them by the CRTC.
Read the full story.
Despite getting $1 billion dollars a year from taxpayers, CBC executives say they can't afford the cost of replacing about 22 analog transmitters with digital television transmitters.
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) had already given the CBC an extension on upgrading to digital transmitters. CTV, Global and other private sector broadcasters had already made the investment forced upon them by the CRTC.
Read the full story.
CBC's Hubert Lacroix said he has no reason to suspect a conspiracy ...
CBC president Hubert Lacroix says he doesn’t believe there’s a conspiracy between its Canadian owners, Sun Media, and the Harper conservatives in Ottawa.
Lacroix, who amplified his oft-stated case for stable funding for the CBC through 2015 (the federal government is expected to bring down its annual budget in March), said he has no reason to suspect a conspiracy, despite “the number of Conservative Party people who have key positions in Sun Media.”
Lacroix defended CBC’s all-Canadian indie pop music network Radio 2 despite four years of conspicuously low ratings — around a 3 per cent share of total hours tuned by listeners of all ages. It had formerly had a classical music and spoken word format with equally low ratings.
Read the full story.
Lacroix, who amplified his oft-stated case for stable funding for the CBC through 2015 (the federal government is expected to bring down its annual budget in March), said he has no reason to suspect a conspiracy, despite “the number of Conservative Party people who have key positions in Sun Media.”
Lacroix defended CBC’s all-Canadian indie pop music network Radio 2 despite four years of conspicuously low ratings — around a 3 per cent share of total hours tuned by listeners of all ages. It had formerly had a classical music and spoken word format with equally low ratings.
Read the full story.
The dominant TV station in the country, the CBC, is owned by the government
The Sun News Network believes in free enterprise, just like Sun Media newspapers do.
But unlike the newspaper business, the TV business isn’t based on free enterprise. In fact, it’s one of the Canadian industries most regulated by the government.
Everything from what channels are allowed on TV, to how much they charge cable companies each month, to the channel placement on the TV dial, is regulated by a government agency called the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, or CRTC. And the dominant TV station in the country, the CBC, is owned by the government.
They receive an annual grant of $1.1 billion.
And that’s in addition to the billions of dollars in real estate and equipment that they have acquired over time.
Stop to think what the newspaper business would look like under that system: A massive government newspaper, with dozens of offices across the country, with subsidized printing and home delivery.
And if you wanted to start up a competitor, you’d have to ask the government for permission, and even to be seen on newsstands.
That’s why no Canadian entrepreneurs have ever started up a free-market all-news TV station.
Do you think there should be more choice on Canadian TV?
That the Sun should have a level playing field with the other channels with mandatory carriage?
Do you think the same rules should apply to all Canadian news channels?
Read the full story.
But unlike the newspaper business, the TV business isn’t based on free enterprise. In fact, it’s one of the Canadian industries most regulated by the government.
Everything from what channels are allowed on TV, to how much they charge cable companies each month, to the channel placement on the TV dial, is regulated by a government agency called the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, or CRTC. And the dominant TV station in the country, the CBC, is owned by the government.
They receive an annual grant of $1.1 billion.
And that’s in addition to the billions of dollars in real estate and equipment that they have acquired over time.
Stop to think what the newspaper business would look like under that system: A massive government newspaper, with dozens of offices across the country, with subsidized printing and home delivery.
And if you wanted to start up a competitor, you’d have to ask the government for permission, and even to be seen on newsstands.
That’s why no Canadian entrepreneurs have ever started up a free-market all-news TV station.
Do you think there should be more choice on Canadian TV?
That the Sun should have a level playing field with the other channels with mandatory carriage?
Do you think the same rules should apply to all Canadian news channels?
Read the full story.
CBC definitely run by bureaucrats
Only a quasi government entity would try to charge customers for printing web content. Before I continue the CBC would reasonably be described as a left wing and government funded news agency in Canada. They compete against private broadcasters in Canada on the web, radio and broadcast television.
Visiting their web page you will come across their terms of use agreements. They seem to have an inflated sense of how much their articles are worth. I am guessing they see their funding getting cut and are hoping this will be a valuable revenue stream.
From a marketing stand-point this will flop, because there is clearly no need to pay the CBC. It was no doubt an inside out marketing job done by some disconnected bureaucrats to boost revenues.
Read the full story.
Visiting their web page you will come across their terms of use agreements. They seem to have an inflated sense of how much their articles are worth. I am guessing they see their funding getting cut and are hoping this will be a valuable revenue stream.
From a marketing stand-point this will flop, because there is clearly no need to pay the CBC. It was no doubt an inside out marketing job done by some disconnected bureaucrats to boost revenues.
Read the full story.
CBC programming is decidedly anti-American ...
CBC programming is decidedly anti-American, according to U.S. diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks.
A cable from the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa to officials in Washington says CBC, "the state-owned" broadcaster, "has long gone to great pains to highlight the distinction between Americans and Canadians."
The diplomatic note goes on to say "the level of anti-American melodrama" reached new heights with the launch of the show The Border.
The cable lays out several plot lines that portray Americans as arrogant, overbearing and generally not concerned with respecting Canadian sovereignty.
Read the full story.
A cable from the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa to officials in Washington says CBC, "the state-owned" broadcaster, "has long gone to great pains to highlight the distinction between Americans and Canadians."
The diplomatic note goes on to say "the level of anti-American melodrama" reached new heights with the launch of the show The Border.
The cable lays out several plot lines that portray Americans as arrogant, overbearing and generally not concerned with respecting Canadian sovereignty.
Read the full story.
CBC refuses to reveal its secrets ...
Poor Hubert Lacroix.
The president of the CBC is feeling put upon because, unlike other media outlets, we refuse to write glowingly about how wonderful the state broadcaster is.
Beginning almost a year ago, I started a semi-regular feature called “The Money Drain” that looks at CBC’s refusal to be open and transparent under the Access to Information Act.
In that time, CBC has refused to release the type of standard fare released by minister’s offices and departments under the same access law that is supposed to open government up to the people who pay for it.
Want to know how much CBC paid to replace the Hockey Night in Canada song they never should have lost? Too bad.
Want to know how much employee absenteeism is costing the taxpayer at CBC? They won’t say.
This series, combined with stinging reports on CBC’s failures from the federal information commissioner, has the Commons ethics and access to information committee examining Lacroix’s actions.
He isn’t happy about it.
Read the full story.
The president of the CBC is feeling put upon because, unlike other media outlets, we refuse to write glowingly about how wonderful the state broadcaster is.
Beginning almost a year ago, I started a semi-regular feature called “The Money Drain” that looks at CBC’s refusal to be open and transparent under the Access to Information Act.
In that time, CBC has refused to release the type of standard fare released by minister’s offices and departments under the same access law that is supposed to open government up to the people who pay for it.
Want to know how much CBC paid to replace the Hockey Night in Canada song they never should have lost? Too bad.
Want to know how much employee absenteeism is costing the taxpayer at CBC? They won’t say.
This series, combined with stinging reports on CBC’s failures from the federal information commissioner, has the Commons ethics and access to information committee examining Lacroix’s actions.
He isn’t happy about it.
Read the full story.
The CBC’s negative impact on the Canadian economy is deep ...
“This government was elected to balance the budget - that must remain the top priority,” says Peter Coleman President and CEO of the National Citizens Coalition. “If they are serious about the promises they made during the most recent election it is time to put the CBC on the chopping block.”
The CBC’s negative impact on the Canadian economy is deeper than most taxpayers realize.
“Private networks must compete with the CBC for advertising dollars, and the CBC has repeatedly refused to even open its books,” says Stephen Taylor, a Director with the NCC.
“Without a transparent, forensic audit the true costs of the CBC are impossible to estimate. This is before even including the millions of public dollars spent each year by other government agencies, such as Canada Post, to advertise on the CBC,” adds Taylor.
Read the full story.
The CBC’s negative impact on the Canadian economy is deeper than most taxpayers realize.
“Private networks must compete with the CBC for advertising dollars, and the CBC has repeatedly refused to even open its books,” says Stephen Taylor, a Director with the NCC.
“Without a transparent, forensic audit the true costs of the CBC are impossible to estimate. This is before even including the millions of public dollars spent each year by other government agencies, such as Canada Post, to advertise on the CBC,” adds Taylor.
Read the full story.
CBC management lacks the necessary controls to manage
CBC English radio had 1,500 staff in 2010, while CBC French radio had 1,000, that is, the French service had roughly two thirds as many people as the English radio service, a ratio that on face value seems reasonable given the services provided by the two radio services across the country. Yet that same year CBC French TV had more staff (3,200) than CBC English TV (3,100), which appears irrational given the services requirements of the two TV services, not to mention the staff ratio in radio.
In 2010 the CBC French TV service generated about $100 million less in advertising revenue and had a budget almost $200 million dollars less than its English counterpart, yet had more people on staff.
In my 40-year association with CBC I can't recall this discrepancy in staff levels having ever been discussed. It is one of many indicators that CBC management lacks the necessary controls to manage the organization properly.
Read the full story.
In 2010 the CBC French TV service generated about $100 million less in advertising revenue and had a budget almost $200 million dollars less than its English counterpart, yet had more people on staff.
In my 40-year association with CBC I can't recall this discrepancy in staff levels having ever been discussed. It is one of many indicators that CBC management lacks the necessary controls to manage the organization properly.
Read the full story.
Mental disorders leading cause of absenteeism at CBC
A report prepared for CBC's board of directors — which QMI Agency obtained through Access to Information — shows CBC workers were absent almost twice as often as private sector workers in fiscal year 2010-2011.
According to the document, CBC employees were absent from work an average of 16.5 days. Statistics Canada figures in the report show public sector workers took an average of 12.6 days off while private sector workers took 8.9 days.
The report cites mental disorders as the leading cause of absenteeism.
Read the full story.
According to the document, CBC employees were absent from work an average of 16.5 days. Statistics Canada figures in the report show public sector workers took an average of 12.6 days off while private sector workers took 8.9 days.
The report cites mental disorders as the leading cause of absenteeism.
Read the full story.
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