Canada’s CBC could be threatened by TPP, journalists warn
Canada’s public broadcaster CBC could be on the chopping block in secret trade talks Wednesday, a journalism union has warned.“The fate of the CBC could be decided at a trade table far away from
Canada even as this country is caught up in a tight election race,” the
Canadian Media Guild (CMG) said in a statement released ahead of
Wednesday’s Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations.
The latest round of TPP talks are set to take place behind closed
doors in the U.S. city of Atlanta, Georgia. Canada’s trade minister, Ed
Fast, is expected to participate in the negotiations, though details of
the talks themselves are expected to remain secret.
Canadian unionist Martin O’Hanlon urged the government to ensure the CBC is safeguarded.
“The Conservative leader, and every other leader, must tell Canadians
what they know and are planning in regard to the TPP and the future of
CBC – Canada’s major cultural and news organization,” O’Hanlon stated.
The CBC is Canada’s oldest existing broadcast network, but according
to the CMG “WikiLeaks has revealed that the CBC could be on the table”
in TPP talks.
Classified TPP documents published by WikiLeaks in July suggested the
trade deal could force public enterprises like the CBC into
privatization.
In an analysis of the leak commissioned by Wikileaks, Professor Jane
Kelsey from New Zealand’s University of Auckland concluded the TPP could
carve out a “backdoor to privatization” of state enterprises (SOEs).
