Mulcair to stop Harper’s damage to the CBC and Canadian arts

NDP to invest in strengthening the CBC and Canadian arts and culture

NDP Leader Tom Mulcair today announced an NDP government will invest in high quality Canadian content and put Canada’s national broadcaster on a secure, long-term footing. He further committed to supporting artists, filmmakers and digital content creators.

“The CBC connects Canadians from coast to coast and is at the heart of our Canadian identity,” said Mulcair. “After years of Liberal cuts, continued by Stephen Harper’s Conservatives, the NDP will strengthen our national broadcaster and invest in Canadian content.”

To fix the damage Stephen Harper and the Liberals before him have done, the NDP will:

• Ensure long-term, reliable funding for Canada’s public broadcaster to continue telling Canadians’ stories by reversing Stephen Harper’s $115 million cuts to the CBC;
• Support Canadian filmmakers and artists with a $60 million investment in Telefilm Canada, the NFB and Canada Council for the Arts;
• Help self-employed artists by introducing an income averaging system that brings more predictability and fairness to their taxes; and
• Encourage new and innovative digital content with a $10 million fund to support Canada’s 150th anniversary celebrations.

“On issue after issue, Justin Trudeau has voted with Stephen Harper, including on budgets that cut funding for the CBC,” said Mulcair. “In this election, only the NDP can be trusted to invest in CBC, to invest in Canadian content, and to support Canadian artists.”