Taxpayers lining up to sign petition and opt-out of the CBC

By News on the Net —— Bio and Archives October 3, 2011

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October 3, 2011 OTTAWA – With the federal government struggling to emerge from a $36-billion deficit this year, taxpayers have been demanding an immediate end to wasteful spending.

"This government was elected to balance the budget - that must remain the top priority," says Peter Coleman President and CEO of the National Citizens Coalition. "If they are serious about the promises they made during the most recent election it is time to put the CBC on the chopping block." With taxpayers being forced to hand over $1.1-billion annually to fund the CBC, the broadcaster has still failed to remain relevant. Now, a new petition has been launched at cbcoptout.ca, which allows taxpayers to join with thousands of others to symbolically opt-out of providing funding.

"It is time to tell Heritage Minister James Moore and Prime Minister Harper that the buck stops here - all 1.1 billion of them." adds Coleman. The CBC's negative impact on the Canadian economy is deeper than most taxpayers realize. "Private networks must compete with the CBC for advertising dollars, and the CBC has repeatedly refused to even open its books," says Stephen Taylor, a Director with the NCC. "Without a transparent, forensic audit the true costs of the CBC are impossible to estimate. This is before even including the millions of public dollars spent each year by other government agencies, such as Canada Post, to advertise on the CBC," adds Taylor. The National Citizens Coalition has been working hard for several years to bring this issue into the spotlight. Now that the CBC is in the hot seat, the pressure is on the federal Conservatives to act decisively and to stop wasting taxpayers' dollars immediately. Visit cbcoptout.ca and sign this petition today! Peter Coleman President and CEO National Citizens Coalition Email: pcoleman1@rogers.blackberry.net Stephen Taylor Director National Citizens Coalition Email: staylor@ncc-on.org