Privatize Canadian broadcaster

An Ottawa policy group called Thursday for the privatization of the Canadian Broadcasting Corp., saying it was a financial burden whose time has passed. The independent, not-for-profit Canadian Center for Policy Studies issued a statement that began by criticizing the broadcaster's finances. It said the CBC received $1.16 billion government funding in 2010-2011. Citing the CBC's annual report, the broadcaster raised net revenue of $1.8 billion during the same period. "Nonetheless, the corporation still managed to report a loss of $24.7 million," the policy group said. One of the CBC's original mandates was to produce and broadcast Canadian programming. The CCPS said media has evolved and the CBC is no longer the principal supplier of Canadian content. "In today's world of proliferating cable stations, there is no shortage of Canadian content available on our television screens -- if the CBC can't provide Canadian content, that does not mean that someone else can't provide it either," the group said. The report went on to criticize the CBC's well-reported refusal to disclose the salaries it pays and how much its "gala parties and receptions" cost taxpayers. There was no immediate response from the broadcaster.