Calls for CBC to be like "other corporations" (en francais)

NATIONAL POST

CBC workers whistle back to work

John McKay
Canadian Press

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

Meanwhile, the independent watchdog group Friends of Canadian Broadcasting is making its perennial call for a change in the way the CBC president is named.

Friends president Ian Morrison says one of the ways to fix the public broadcaster is to end the process whereby the president is appointed by the prime minister.

"Accountable to no one other than the prime minister, (Robert) Rabinovitch had a free hand to lock out CBC employees and deny service to Canadians," Morrison told the Calgary Rotary Club last week. "Unlike other corporations, CBC's board cannot hire or fire its CEO."

He went on to say the "patronage governance system" has consequences for the effectiveness of CBC's management which lost a lot of credibility with its blundering of the situation.

If Mr. Morrison wants the appointment of the CBC President to be like other corporations, I say let's do it. The only thing is, if he wants to be like "other corporations" don't stop at just the President, let's go all the way. How about publishing your financial statements for a start?