Sunday 16 April 2023

Université de Moncton to appoint officials to study potential name change

 

Université de Moncton to appoint officials to study potential name change

University announced Saturday it will ask 2 officials to prepare report

This announcement came after the university's board of governors met Saturday afternoon. The decision is in response to calls for change from some Acadian groups.

According to the university, the officials will be asked to examine various aspects of changing the name and the potential impacts of a change.

"A decision as critical as whether or not to change the name of the university requires a rigorous process," said Denise Frenette, vice-chair of the university's board of governors.

"That is why board members need more information and evidence to make an informed decision. We will leave it to the officials to carry out their mandate with all the independence required."

Speaking in French, Frenette also said the university's executive would propose candidates for the two positions. The board of governors will make the selections.

A report examining the political, social, legal and economic aspect of changing the university's name is expected by October. 

Some Acadian groups renewed calls for the university to be renamed as the school celebrates its 60th anniversary this year.

A man with short light grey hair is seated in a wood chair at the legislative assembly. He is wearing a navy blue suit, white dress shirt and dark tie, and has glasses. He is leaning forward on the table in front of him, where there is a stack of papers and a lit microphone. He looks towards someone sitting across from him, slightly to his left. Denis Prud'homme is seen speaking to the select committee on public universities on March 1. (Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick)

Denis Prud'homme, the president and vice-chancellor of the university, said last month the university is open to a name change if public interest calls for it.

In response, a petition was signed by approximately 850 people supporting a change, including former New Brunswick ombud Bernard Richard, MLAs such as Kevin Arseneau and Robert Gauvin, and other political and cultural figures.

Meanwhile, several prominent Acadians in the province wrote an open letter in a New Brunswick French-language newspaper, calling themselves a silent majority who oppose a name change. They included Canadian public policy expert Donald J. Savoie, former New Brunswick deputy premier Aldéa Landry, and former Supreme Court of Canada justice Michel Bastarache.

The university and the city take their name from Robert Monckton, an 18th-century British military figure who was involved in the deportation of Acadians.

The issue of whether to rename the university goes back to its incorporation in 1963. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Vanessa Moreau is a journalist with CBC New Brunswick in Moncton. You can send story tips to vanessa.moreau@cbc.ca.

With files from Radio-Canada

CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices
 
 
 
123 Comments 
 
 
 
David Amos
Methinks the SANB will have 3 brand new MLAs promoting this study in short order N'esy Pas? 
 
 
 
David Amos
This article is suitable for framing  
 
 
 
 
Winston Gray 
It’s just a name, it can change and it doesn’t affect anything.

I know some people will want things to be frozen in time because they can’t cope with change, though.

 
David Amos
Reply to Winston Gray   
Yea Rght 
 
 
David Webb
Reply to Winston Gray 
OK, so just leave it alone as it is. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Mack Leigh
Enough of this foolishness. Leave the name of the university alone. There was no hesitation in accepting the millions of taxpayers money invested in this university. Stop trying to erase our history and start using it as a learning tool. 
 
 
David Amos
Reply to Mack Leigh 
Ditto
 
 
 
 
 
Errol Willis  
To be fair, the university is not named after the person, but the city in which it resides (and presumably receives some funding from?).

Regardless, seems like a silly waste of time and effort, but to each their own.

 
David Amos
Reply to Errol Willis 
They are funded by all of us 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Archara Goldehere
That is awesome !!! Keeping it real and making the changes needed . Let the people there do what is best for them . Lot's of towns and river's are changing there names . Moving forward  
 
 
David Amos

Reply to Archara Goldehere 
The towns are changing their names because Higgy ordered it  
 
 
 
 
 
 
Alex Butt 
The reasoning of changing the name of the U of M is as ridiculous as the person fighting air Canada on the grounds that there was no french speaking flight attendants in business class. Are they going to next demand to change the name of the city of Moncton as well?  
 
 
Mack Leigh Yup ! That will come next and they have already tried to erase street names and other valuable parts of our rich heritage and history. Embrace our history and use it as a learning tool rather than trying to rewrite or erase it.  
 
 
Derek James
David Amos  
Reply to Alex Butt  
"Are they going to next demand to change the name of the city of Moncton as well?"

Of that I have no doubt

 
Jack Bell
Reply to Michael Cain  
""Our rich heritage and history" have many missing players."

How far back are we going to go to make sure everyone is included?... or would you like to impose a limit?

 
 
 
 

Wilson Rose 
Perhaps if they called it 'Princeton' or 'Harvard' people would feel better about graduating. 
 
 
David Amos  
Reply to Wilson Rose 
Why not Oxford or Cambridge?  
 
 
 
 
 
danny rugg  
Let me see what we have for good ideas......hmmm, one the one hand we have Moncton, the fastest growing city in Canada. Then there is a University. Supposed to be smart people there. And they want nothing to do with the name Moncton. OK, give it a whirl boys. Will it take until October to figure it out? Really?  
 
 
David Amos

Reply to danny rugg 
Smart people???

Check out who the Dean of their Law School is

 
 
 
 
 
Derek James 
good idea, because it looks like both names are in French and the label could use a little imagination ... 
 
 
David Amos

Reply to Derek James 
Trust that Higgy doesn't care what they do 
 
 
 
 
 
Toby Tolly  
how about

universite de don't come for the nursing degree

 
David Amos

Reply to Toby Tolly 
Good point but a law degree from there is worthless in light of who they have for a Dean  
 
 
 
 
 
 
Jackie Barrett
Since Universite de Moncton is not an offensive name or have reference to a figure connected to racist policies, I think some of New Brunswick's Acadian population are going too far in demanding a name change.
 
 
June Arnott  
Reply to Jackie Barrett
Exactly, there is no shame to the name. If anything shows our bilingualism 
 
 
Mike May 
Reply to Jackie Barrett
Well now Jackie, you need to check your history. Col Robert Monckton is the man who loaded the Acadians onto boats and deported them to faraway places! The city is named after him. Just because the "k" is gone from the name that does not mean there is no connection to racist policies. 
 
 
Mack Leigh
Reply to Mike May   
Hello... that is part of our history where both, yes both sides made grave errors in

judgment and neither party is blameless. It happened. both were at fault and it is past time that we move on.

 
David Amos
Reply to Mike May  
Whats your point about us being racists?
 
 
Mike May 
Reply to David Amos
Not the Acadians David, Colonel Robert Monckton was following the policies of the British Government. 
 
 
Greg Windsor 
Reply to Mike May  
And why do you not explain why this action was taken during a time of war. Tell the whole story or not at all !  
 
 
David Amos
Reply to Mike May
The Acadians who denied defeat and refused to accept British rule were shipped out to French territories   
 
 
Jack Bell
Reply to Mike May
Well now Mike, you need to check your history. The Acadians were asked to stay neutral in the conflict between France and England, they did not as shown by 270 Acadians fighting against England in the battle of Fort Beausejour.

Afterwards they were asked to take an oath of allegiance to England, which they refused.

No one is 100% innocent in this.

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/the-deportation-of-the-acadians-feature 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Graeme Scott
Whatever happens it will mean more division and hard feelings between elements of our two main linguistic groups. I really, really shudder to quote Donald Trump but .....sad  
 
 
Michael Cain 
Reply to Graeme Scott 
It does not affect any other group than the Acadians, it's a non-issue. 
 
 
David Amos
Reply to Graeme Scott
Sometimes sad things must be said 
 
 
Graeme Scott 
Reply to Michael Cain
Excuse me? It's a publicly funded university. It affects all New Brunswickers. I'm pretty sure the province doesn't segregate the tax revenue collected from Acadians amd exclusively fund francophone services and institutions with those funds. Although, come to think of it, that might not be a bad idea. 
 
 
David Amos
Reply to Graeme Scott
Amen
 
 
Michael Cain
Reply to Graeme Scott 
There is no argument. If the media didn't report on it, you wouldn't know about it or even care.   
 
 
Jack Bell
Reply to Michael Cain  
"If the media didn't report on it, you wouldn't know about it or even care."

In much the same way that we wouldn't know who won the last election if no one reported on it.... is there a point to your post?

 
 
 
 
 
 
Kevin Archibald  
Mustn't upset anyone in this perfect world, and naturally there's a "study". Just another way to give someone a pay day. 
 
 
David Amos
Reply to Kevin Archibald 
Yup
 
 
 

Sam Smithers 
I thought we were done letting the tail wag the dog. 
 
 
David Amos

Reply to Sam Smithers
Dream on 
 
 
Mack Leigh 
Reply to Sam Smithers
Not in this province..........





Ben Haroldson 
Maybe Jackie Vautour Memorial University 
 
 
David Amos
 
Reply to Ben Haroldson 
He claimed to be Metis 
 
 
 
 
 
 
June Arnott 
They are a minority. How about u let the alumni and students decide. Or do they need it called U de Dieppe? 
 
 
David Amos
Reply to June Arnott 
Good question
 
 
David Webb
Reply to June Arnott 
That U of D name wouldn't be acceptable to the SANB crowd. It was the allies (Britton, Canada and the US) trying to rescue France. If anything the next thing will be wanting the name Dieppe changed because it was chosen to recognise the sacrifices of the non french forces.
 
 
Mike May
Reply to David Webb
Not true. Leger Corner was renamed to Dieppe because of all the soldiers from Leger Corner that died in Dieppe, France. There is a memorial to those soldiers in front of Dieppe city hall. 
 
 
David Webb
Reply to Mike May  
I understand very well the name being changed to Dieppe and why, however what I stated you labeled as no true. Care to point out what you opinion to not be true? 
 
 
 
 
 

Mike May
Some groups?? No, just one and it is the most divisive group to exist in the Maritimes! SANB creates more problems than it is worth!   
 
 
David Amos
Reply to Mike May 
C'est Vrai  
 
 
Mike May 
Reply to David Amos  
Merci mon ami! 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Charlene Bourque-Blanchard  
Maybe Crandall University can take over the University of Moncton name and expand it's student base
 
 
David Amos
Reply to Charlene Bourque-Blanchard
Perhaps
 
 
 
 
 
Michael Collins 
Call it whatever you want ,it will still only rank 55th in Canada according to QS rankings. All the fuss started by a francophone who is not even an Acadian. 
 
 
David Amos
  
Reply to Michael Collins 
I am impressed that your comment was permitted





 
Ernest Biggs 
I've studied this and I think there should be a study into the viability of this study.  
 
 
Harold Reagan 
Reply to Ernest Biggs
Let's look into your suggestion. Not all agreeing to the same right away of course. We need to individually come up with our ideas, forward them to you, and then we might come up with something to present to those at the University to study. 


David Amos
Reply to Harold Reagan
Surely you jest 
 
 
 
 
 
Harold Reagan 
Paleeese think this one out carefully? What in this colony does not have a royal label? Don't call this Chuckles University, or Willy's Place and especially keep all other majestic names away from it. rCMP was doing very well until someone insisted it went royal also. Canadian?  
 
 
David Amos
Reply to Harold Reagan  
Welcome back to the circus 


Greg Windsor 
Reply to Harold Reagan  
Well, we are a monarchy, so get over it. Nothing wrong at all with a name which reflects our country. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fred Dee   
This is insane!!! ERASING history is the new thing, eventually everything will be renamed and more history will be lost!! Should we now change the name of the city also??
 
 
Michael Cain  
  
Reply to Fred Dee 
Oh Freddy, don't be silly. We have books to read. 
 
 
David Amos
  
Reply to Fred Dee 
History is written by the winner  
 
 
Marcel Belanger
Reply to Fred Dee
No one can erase history, get real. 
 

David Amos 
Reply to Marcel Belanger  
I know for a fact that its done all the time
 
 
Michael Cain
Reply to Fred Dee
Read a book or 2 for a history lesson. 
 
 
Jack Bell
Reply to Michael Cain 
So you are in favor of erasing history? 
 
André Vautour 
Reply to Fred Dee  
This doesn't have to be about erasing history at all. It is about a people having a name on their education institution that they are proud of and that significant positive meaning to them. The Université de Moncton was created from Memramcook's Collège de Saint-Joseph, much the same way UNB was created from Kings College.

I'd be all for renaming it to Université de Saint-Joseph, thus preserving history.

 
Jack Bell
Reply to André Vautour 
I would actually be OK with that, although I'm doubtful it would end up with that name.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Michael Cain 
The name “Canada” likely comes from the Huron-Iroquois word “kanata,” meaning “village” or “settlement.”

Ontario acquired its name from the Iroquois word “kanadario”, which translates into “sparkling” water.

The name is believed to have originated with Cree term "Man-into-wahpaow", meaning “the narrows of the Great Spirit”

...check out Origin of the names of Canada and its provinces and territories

 
G. Timothy Walton
Reply to Michael Cain
One of the better Heritage Moment vignettes.  
 
 
David Amos 
Reply to G. Timothy Walton 
Provincial Archives of New Brunswick

New Brunswick was founded in 1784, and its present territory was carved out of Nova Scotia by a royal commission appointed by George III. New Brunswick was named for the German county of Brunswick, a duchy of King George III.

The official seal of the newly established province symbolized shipbuilding, showing a ship between two riverbanks flanked by large Canadian white pines. It resembled the British coat of arms and bore the Latin motto Spem Reduxit, meaning "hope restored." That seal remained in use until Confederation in 1867 and has since been reworked several times.

The founding of the Province of New Brunswick in 1784 coincided with the massive inflow of New England Loyalists intent on maintaining allegiance to the British Crown during the American War of Independence (1775-1783). Thousands of Loyalists arrived with their families and wanted to settle here, despite the trying conditions. The British king acquiesced by founding a new province. New Brunswick's motto refers to that hopeful arrival. While many Loyalists were soldiers and officers, their ranks also included farmers, lawyers, merchants,shipbuilders, and so on. They settled mostly in the south of the province, including the regions of St. Andrews, Saint John, Gagetown, and Fredericton.

The Loyalists worked to fashion New Brunswick through their energetic participation in establishing the provincial government and its constituent bodies. They also founded teaching institutions, including King's College, which later became the University of New Brunswick. The Acadians, who were already settled in several parts of the province, were allowed no role in organizing the new province. 

 
Mike May 
Reply to David Amos 
The Acadians were loaded onto boats and shipped to French colonies all over the world. You also forgot that the Loyalists brought their slaves with them! Slavery was not abolished in the British Empire until 1834 in the British Empire. 
 
 
David Amos 
Reply to Mike May   
Why were certain Acadians shipped out and others were not? What is your point abut slavery? 
 
 
Mathieu Laperriere
Reply to David Amos
Some were allowed to stay to farm. The English didn't know how to farm the land they appropriated so they let some Acadians stay to feed them.
 
 
David Amos 
   
Reply to Mathieu Laperriere 
Dream on


Jack Bell
Reply to Mathieu Laperriere
Would you happen to have a link for that? 
 
 
Mike May 
Reply to David Amos 
The Loyalists have been "sold" to us as wonderful people! They were nothing but disgruntled slave owners who didn't want to be Americans., nothing to celebrate~ 
 
 
Mathieu Laperriere
Reply to Jack Bell 
No
 
 
 
 
 
 

Les Cooper 
Unreal. WHO's brainstorm is this?? 
 
 
David Amos 
Reply to Les Cooper  
Survey says?
 
 
G. Timothy Walton
Reply to Les Cooper
Activist from Québec, if history's any guide. 
 
 
Michael Cain
Reply to Les Cooper 
Not a new issue; been around since 1963. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Marcel Belanger  
Université de L’Acadie, ça sonne très bon et ça se dit bien. 
 
 
David Amos 
Reply to Marcel Belanger 
Methinks plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose N'esy Pas? 
 
 
Greg Windsor  
Reply to Marcel Belanger
Except acadia is not actually a place 
 
 
Greg Windsor  
Reply to David Amos
There is an Acadia University in Nova Scotia... 
 
 
David Amos 
Reply to Greg Windsor  
Why should I care? 
 
 
Marcel Belanger 
Reply to Greg Windsor   
L’Acadie still very much exists for us. Not sure what or where acadia is.  
 
 
Michael Cain
Reply to Greg Windsor  
Acadia was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. 
 
 
Greg Windsor
Reply to Michael Cain 
Was, being the key word. And are you telling me France had a colony !!!! shame, shame, I thought it was only the English that had colonized this area.... or so we are being told. 
 
 
Michael Cain
Reply to Greg Windsor   
Don't know where you got that idea; read some history.   
 
 
Jack Bell
Reply to Michael Cain
"Don't know where you got that idea;"

You saying this:

"Acadia was a colony..."

 
 
 
 
 
Bob Smith
Am I misreading this or is it that some Acadians seem to have a real issue with the name of a city being British? 
 
 
David Amos 
Reply to Bob Smith
You read it right 


David Amos 
Reply to Bob Smith
I am still laughing over this nonsense

Poilievre's pitch to defund CBC, keep French services would require change in law

Proposal 'a lot more complicated than people think,' expert says

Stephanie Taylor · The Canadian Press · Posted: Apr 14, 2023 10:49 AM ADT

 
Dan Lee 
Reply to Bob Smith
last sentence...... 
 
 
Michael Cain 
Reply to Bob Smith 
The issue of whether to rename the university goes back to its incorporation in 1963. 
 
 
André Vautour 
Reply to Bob Smith
No, the issue is the main education institution of a people having the name of one of the biggest contributor of the deportation of its people in 1755. 
 
 
Jack Bell
Reply to André Vautour 
The Acadians were asked to stay neutral in the battle between England and France however 270 Acadian militia being at the battle of Battle of Fort Beauséjour showed they were not. 
 
 
André Vautour 
Reply to Jack Bell 
And that justifies locking people in churches while burning their villages, to then separate men, women and children into different vessels and sending them in different parts of the world? Did you seriously just try to justify what can only be considered a cultural genocide?  
 
 
Jack Bell
Reply to André Vautour 
...and your reply is, I don't like what history said so I'll attack the person who brought it up. 
 
 
André Vautour 
Reply to Bob Smith   
I simply clarified why they are considering changing the name.

Saying that the Acadians were not neutral implies that there was a reason they got deported, that it was justified.

You’re the one who shared something that was culturally insensitive. Apparently, asking questions is attacking someone. Who knew?  

 
André Vautour 
Reply to Jack Bell  
I simply clarified why they are considering changing the name. It has everything to do with that individual.
 
You replying that the Acadians were not neutral implies that there was reason for what happened. That it somehow was justified. Why else would you have shared that? 
 
 
Jack Bell
Reply to André Vautour 
"I simply clarified why they are considering changing the name. It has everything to do with that individual."

This wasn't something that happened out of the blue, there were actions that lead up to this. Putting 100% of the blame on one single person, while ignoring the actions of everyone else is intellectually dishonest.

"You replying that the Acadians were not neutral implies that there was reason for what happened. That it somehow was justified. "

Let me get this straight, your take away from this is:

Being hostile is OK when the objectives of those hostilities fail to materialize?

...what if it had succeeded?

"Why else would you have shared that?"

...because it was the reason for the deportation.

 

 


 
Stephen Gilbert  
let them change the name to whatever they like as long as the government isn't flippin the bill for committees, signage, new logos and stationary. pass the costs onto the students if they really insist on this course of action. 
 
 
David Amos 
Reply to Stephen Gilbert 
The truth is most folks don't care about this nonsense  
 
 
Yves Savoie
Reply to Stephen Gilbert 
There's a bunch that always have to stir the pot!!!!  
 
 
David Amos 
Reply to Yves Savoie 
Its a wicked game they play but I do enjoy dicing with them
 
 
 
 
 
 
Samual Johnston
The victors usually get the naming rights no? Am sure there are more in line who disapprove of any English or French name. 
 
 
David Amos 
Reply to Samual Johnston 
Ask yourself when this renaming nonsnese became an issue  
 
 
Marcel Belanger 
Reply to Samual Johnston 
Well, in this case it was invaders, you know, like Russia invading Ukraine and renaming everything in those areas they’ve taken over by force of arms. Also they’re taking children in those areas beck to Russia to be indoctrinated, another type of deportation. 
 
 
Samual Johnston
Reply to Marcel Belanger 
can we really apply the same thinking to what happened hundreds of years ago as we do to modern conflicts? back then the world was up for grabs and it was everyone for themselves trying to expand their territory --- one group fought another group for it and prob another and another then the acadians took it from that group - English took it from them - then the world became more 'civilized' -- have to stop looking back so far and expecting those living today to right the supposed wrongs 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Michael Cain 
I wonder the value in allowing commentary on this subject. The media likes to talk about accountability, but this just illustrates the lack of tolerance of a small number of people. Hopefully, this is not reflective of our society at large. Just a Sunday dull news day.
 
 
David Amos 
 
Reply to Michael Cain
Who are you to judge the commentary?
 
 
Jack Bell
Reply to Michael Cain  
" this just illustrates the lack of tolerance of a small number of people."

The people calling for the name change?

 
Michael Cain 
Reply to Jack Bell
No, the negative comments here.  
 
 
Jack Bell
Reply to Michael Cain  
Is erasing history really the best idea?

"Those who do not study history are doomed to repeat it"

 




 
Yves Savoie 
The university has bigger issues than a name change....The ones all worried about a name change should flip the bill. Problem solved! 
 
 
 
 
Yves Savoie 
Should have money with no Queen on it also.....Robert Monckton was following orders from the Leaders.Jesus people move on....  
 
 
Greg Windsor
Reply to Yves Savoie
You are correct, our money should now have our Kings effigy ,King Charles 111, King of Canada !
 
 
 
 
Yves Savoie  
You just have to see who started this....nufff said! 


David Amos   
Reply to Yves Savoie 
Amen  
 
 
 
Tom Gordon 
How about Moncton University lol. 

 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/poilievre-defund-cbc-change-law-1.6810434

Poilievre's pitch to defund CBC, keep French services would require change in law

Proposal 'a lot more complicated than people think,' expert says

That's according to the Crown corporation, which has found itself in a back-and-forth with the Opposition leader over his pledge to cut the roughly $1 billion in taxpayer dollars it receives annually.

Past Conservative leaders have also taken aim at the CBC, which receives its share of public money through Parliament when MPs vote on its federal budget.

Poilievre's pitch to strip the CBC of its public funding is widely popular among Conservatives and earned loud cheers from the crowds who packed rooms to see him during last year's leadership campaign.

But he has also suggested he supports Radio-Canada's French services.

When asked for comment on how he reconciles those two things, his office pointed to a media interview he gave to Radio-Canada in March 2022, in which he suggested maintaining support for services tailored to francophone minorities.

In another sit-down interview last July with True North, Poilievre explained that the only justification for having a public broadcaster is to provide content the private market does not. He argued that is not the case for CBC's English services.

"Almost everything the CBC does can be done in the marketplace these days because of technology," he told host Andrew Lawton. "I would preserve a small amount for French-language minorities, linguistic minorities, because they, frankly, will not get news services provided by the market."

He added he did not think the CBC's English-language services on TV or online "provide anything that people can't get from the marketplace."

Making that happen, however, appears easier said than done.

CBC responds to defunding pledge

In a statement, CBC/Radio-Canada said funding only Radio-Canada "would change the very nature of how programs and services are funded in Canada to target public money at only one language group."

A spokesman said doing so would require the Broadcasting Act, the law outlining its mandate, "to be rewritten."

The law requires the corporation to provide programming in both French and English, and it does not give the government sway over how resources are allocated to accomplish that.

It also stipulates that the broadcaster maintain "creative and programming independence" and provide a range of both television and radio services.

"CBC/Radio-Canada is the country's only media company that serves all Canadians, in both official languages (and eight Indigenous ones), from coast to coast to coast," corporate spokesman Leon Mar said in a written statement.

It is the corporation's board of directors that determines how the funding it receives is spent. In 2021-22, the CBC received more than $1.2 billion in government funding, a decrease from about $1.4 billion in 2020-21.

Peter Menzies, a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute and former vice-chair of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, said reducing funding for the CBC is one thing, but prescribing how it can use the money would be difficult "unless you redo the legislation entirely."

A building with a CBC logo in front of it. People walk into the CBC building in Toronto on April 4, 2012. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has said that his government will sell off CBC buildings. (Nathan Denette/Canadian Press)

He said a future government could provide the broadcaster with a new mandate specifying what kind of services and on what platforms and in what languages it provides them — but said that leads to the problem of "picking winners and losers."

"I'm not sure politicians really want to go down the [road of] ... 'We are going to give francophones better service with public money than we're going to give anglophones,"' he said.

Menzies added that while he believes changes should be made to the CBC, "it's a lot more complicated than people think."

"Preferring one piece of it over another piece, particularly linguistically, I think that opens a door you probably don't really want to open."

Accusations of bias

He also pointed out about 40 per cent of CBC's revenue already flows to Radio-Canada, even though the proportion of French-speaking households in Canada is much smaller.

Poilievre touts that slashing CBC's overall funding would equal savings for taxpayers, and has also suggested he has plans to sell off its buildings.

Speaking to a crowd gathered in Calgary last August, the then-leadership hopeful accused the corporation of putting "all the money into these big, gigantic temples they call headquarters in Toronto and Montreal." Montreal is the home of its Radio-Canada headquarters.

"There's some savings right there," he added.

In a statement Thursday, Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet said Poilievre's proposal caters to the most devoted parts of his base and that Radio-Canada serves an essential role for Quebec and the French language in Canada. He accused the Tory leader of wanting to hamper those efforts.

A spokeswoman for Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez, Laura Scaffidi, added that both CBC and Radio-Canada are invaluable "in smaller and official language minority communities."

While visiting Edmonton on Thursday, Poilievre was asked whether he was prepared to amend the federal broadcasting law as it pertains to the CBC and its French-language services. He did not answer, but instead called the CBC the "biased propaganda arm of the Liberal Party."

A woman standing in front of a Canadian flag. Relations between the federal Conservatives and the CBC further soured earlier this year when Catherine Tait, the broadcaster's CEO, told the Globe and Mail in an interview that Poilievre's criticisms amounted to a slogan the party used to raise money. (Chris Wattie/Reuters)

It comes after he asked Twitter to add a "government-funded" label to accounts that promote "news-related" content from CBC English, but did not ask the same for its French counterpart.

The corporation contends that the description is inaccurate, saying its editorial independence is enshrined in law. It also draws a distinction between "government" and "public" funding, because of the fact that the money it receives is granted through a vote made in Parliament.

After such a label was applied to the BBC, the U.K. broadcaster pushed back, and Twitter eventually changed the tag to "publicly funded media."

CBC CEO reached out to Poilievre

Relations between the federal Conservatives and the CBC further soured earlier this year when Catherine Tait, the broadcaster's CEO, told the Globe and Mail in an interview that Poilievre's criticisms of the CBC amounted to a slogan the Conservative Party used to raise money.

That is just what the party did following her comments. Poilievre said Tait's words showed CBC had launched a partisan attack against him and that it could not be trusted.

The exchange followed an invitation Tait had made to Poilievre to meet just days after he was elected Conservative leader last September. By the end of November, Tait reached out again, expressing disappointment in a response she said she received back from his office that he would not be able to meet — despite the party continuing to attack CBC and its reporters as biased.

"These fundraising efforts do not acknowledge the scope and value that CBC/Radio-Canada actually delivers to Canadians, or the implications to this country and its economy were it to be 'defunded,"' Tait wrote in a letter to Poilievre.

La Presse first reported on the letter, which it obtained with an access-to-information request. The Canadian Press also obtained a copy.

"As the head of the public broadcaster and as the leader of the Opposition," Tait continued, "I think Canadians can rightly expect that the two of us have a responsibility to discuss the implications of your promise."

With files from Mickey Djuric and Ritika Dubey

CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

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