Diane Francis: Joining Eurovision nothing more than a Carney vanity project

Carney promised a “generational investment” in this budget but his CBC blunder promises nothing more than a ticket to watch Eurovision, writes Diane Francis. Photo by FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty Images/Postmedia files

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Mark Carney’s first federal budget as Prime Minister should be called the Eurovision Budget. It piles on debt and contains a $150-million allocation to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) — disguised as cultural investment — which includes, unbelievably, a plan for Canada to “explore participation” in the Eurovision Song Contest.

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At the same time, interest payments on federal debt will cost taxpayers more than $1 billion per week, a staggering sum that rivals spending on national defence or Indigenous services. Yet Carney has decided that the CBC — already bloated, loss-making, and ideologically biased — needs millions atop its enormous budget.

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As Conservative MP Andrew Lawton posted on X: “Can’t afford groceries? Don’t worry — the Liberal budget is exploring participation by CBC in Eurovision.”

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This is not only tone-deaf but an autocratic move designed to continue CBC’s drumbeat in favour of Carney, his party, and causes.

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The CBC receives about 1.2 billion from Parliament every year, and still manages to operate at a loss some years, due to collapsing ad revenues and tiny audiences.

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Meanwhile, the private sector — CTV, Global, and hundreds of independent digital outlets — struggles to survive. Some private media executives call CBC’s state-funded dominance an existential threat to journalism in this country. It is, along with the fact that Facebook was alienated by the Liberal government, over advertising revenue sharing, which has driven Canadian media outlets into the ditch financially. Australia, by contrast, struck a deal with Facebook and its independent media is growing.

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CBC has long been the Liberal party’s media echo chamber — sympathetic coverage, soft interviews, and predictable editorial lines. The network’s tone during the last election bordered on partisan cheerleading. During the election campaign, Carney openly promised hundreds of millions to the network.

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Now he believes that joining a European pop pageant is in the national interest while Canada’s economic condition deteriorates. The trade talks with the U.S. have gone nowhere. Meanwhile, the U.K. and Australia and others have bargained new arrangements by sitting down in a business-like fashion with the Trump team and economically “horse-trading”.

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Frankly, the best CBC policy would be to privatize its television stations then divert the proceeds to tax relief for the country’s taxpayers. Instead, Carney intends to continue imposing elitist views and a struggling network down Canadian throats.

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Taking part in Eurovision would be an unjustifiable vanity project. Canada struggles with too much already as well as inflation and a lousy relationship with its most important business/trading partner. Carney promised a “generational investment” in this budget but his CBC blunder promises nothing more than a ticket to watch Eurovision, money better spent on cutting taxes and meeting the NATO commitments that the Trudeau bunch ignored.

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Financial Post

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