By that logic should we do away with things like libraries? Public parks? Ditch rural broadband expansion? Student loan programs? Disaster response preparedness programs and services? Sickness benefits? Huge infrastructure programs that might not serve one’s immediate area?
These are all examples of public expenditures on things that not everybody uses, but provides benefit to our country and society.
Government doesn’t need to be run like a business, it’s not always about profit and losses, it’s about serving the country and its people. . We are seeing a real time example south of the border right now of what happens when somebody tries to run a country like a business instead of….a country.
Example: fully staffed libraries (as above) can probably be downsized or practically erased. The number of 'kids' without access to the internet (or a computer in general) through schools, rec centres or the home is probably a rounding error.
Now I'll leave you to carry on your point about benefiting 'our' country and society...like Quebec..a province that until 3 months ago historically has not cared to be a part of anything outside their borders (yes im generalizing to make a point).
I would be floored if we ever see a pipeline in Quebec in my lifetime.
We've also wandered far, far off topic. I'm on vacation so i won't be moderating till i'm back. Let's put @Lightcycle to work.
I spoke to a 14 year vet (CP) today on the road, they are implenenting changes to force the employees to work the full 8 hrs. He's ****** because he does Air Canada (something) as a side hustle. In 6 months he will take his 15 years and split if this goes down. Apparently lots of people with seniority are happy to look for the exit with the gold plated pension.
He mentioned the union is expecting some sort of report back today. They will then decide on strike action after digesting that.
It’s obvious the hatred of the CBC by many is rooted in people‘s political leanings, but when you actually dive into what they offer for the country versus how much it costs us versus other countries that support public broadcasting, it’s not all bad.
Without the CBC there would be a lot of areas in Canada that would have little or no coverage of news as commercial broadcasters aren’t interested in serving areas that are unprofitable. This is both TV and radio. It’s also a very valuable tool for communication during emergencies such as natural disasters.
In these small rural areas and communities they cover things like town halls, small town elections, etc. These places aren’t going to be covered by the big broadcasters as again, there’s no profit in it, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hold a lot of value to those who are in these typically under serviced rural areas. It’s easy for people who live in the big cities to say that none of this matters, but for the people who actually live in these areas the reality is much different.
They also provide cultural and Canadian specific programming which in this day and age of the USA increasingly creeping north of the border holds value to a lot of Canadians.
There is a lot of children’s programming as well which isn’t just the usual cartoon trash but actually has some valuable learning components. We have a family member who only lets her kid watch educational slanted programming which he quite enjoys but actually learns from vs staring blankly at the screen. Sort of like PBS in the USA, (i.e. Sesame Street etc) this is another area in which commercial broadcasters aren’t particularly interested in servicing because it’s not profit driven.
Being able to serve virtually our entire country for the amount of money that we spend on it is not a bad ROI. Compared against other public broadcasters like the BBC which costs over $5b
I think it’s important too step back and look at the larger picture of what the CBC provides across the entire country.
What part of the country are you talking about that has no local news? I spend a great deal of time in very remote areas of Ontario… Porcupine, Moosonee, Attawapiskat - local radio and print covers the local stuff - not CBC. In fact I have never needed to get news from CBC anywhere in Canada and I’ve been everywhere, man.
50 years ago CBC may have been relevant. We had OTA radio and TV, so having broadcast facilities in remote areas was a critical service. Technology gives digital tv and 10,000 Chanels to anyone, anywhere they want it.
And comparing to other public broadcasters isn’t as easy as comparing spend. England and Germany (the big spenders) have never developed a private broadcaster market - public broadcasters control and regulate those markets. Compare us to countries with a robust national media.
CP should increase prices to cover the current deficit and move forward with community mailboxes wherever possible.
CUPW is doing what a union is supposed to do, advocate for their members, however ridiculous or out of touch their demands or expectations might seem to be at times.
The expectation of time and a half or double time for weekend work is based on legacy agreements that go back decades, when Monday - Friday work was the norm for most members, aside from those that work in sorting centers. I'd be curious to know what percentage of CP workers do in fact work on weekends at the increased rate. Is this the norm, or is this the exception? Don't know.
Actually, from what I understand, CUPW offered up weekend assignments for regular posties making non-overtime wages. Volunteer position. After that, it goes to casual workers who are desperate for hours…
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