Dear Editor:
Informed citizens are essential to democracy. Are we Canadians informed? Who is informing us? Certainly not the secretive Harper government.
Mainstream media? Just so you know, our mainstream media is nearly a monopoly. Bell, Rogers, Shaw, Postmedia and so few others own most of what Canadians watch and read. Newspaper guru Conrad Black explains what this concentration of ownership means: Diversity of opinion and aggressive news gathering tend to disappear with the disappearance of competition, and public opinion could thereby become more of a hostage to private interests then a master of public policy.
Its no secret that Harper is out to kill the CBC. The Canadian people own the CBC. It costs us an insignificant seven cents each per day. We own it, but Harper runs it into the ground. Successive budget cuts by both Harper and the previous Liberals are a direct attack on the publics right-to-know. Its an attack on democracy. Harper handpicked almost the entire board of directors of the CBC; its being gutted from inside. Canada and the world desperately need reporters and public broadcasters who are independent of influence from government and special interests.
Without the CBC, a special interest group with an unlimited advertising budget could literally buy public opinion. NDPs Tom Mulcair promised to restore funding to the CBC. The critical hidden issue of this election is that it could be last call for democracy. Get out and vote.
Bryan Stawychny
Edgewater
