Conservative government could set back some TRC calls to action
Three points from Truth and Reconciliation Commission address roles of news media and journalists
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre speaks at a rally in Iqaluit on Sept. 9. Poilievre says a Conservative government would defund the CBC. A Truth and Reconciliation Commission call to action, however, urges the federal government to increase funding to the public broadcaster so it can support reconciliation and reflect Indigenous Peoples’ diversity. (File photo by Jeff Pelletier)
A Conservative government led by Pierre Poilievre could be a setback to at least one of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 calls to action. Maybe to two others. Maybe more.
Defunding the CBC — which Poilievre has vowed to do if he becomes prime minister — will make it harder to make good on one of three calls to action aimed at Canada’s news media.
Three events are unfolding, coincidentally, that make this a good time to consider the impact a Conservative government would have on those calls to action.
There was Wednesday’s House of Commons showdown where the Conservative-led non-confidence motion, along with the party’s support in the polls, suggest time is running out on Justin Trudeau’s Liberal minority government.
Saturday is World News Day, a time, according to its website, to draw attention to the role journalists play in providing trustworthy news and information that serves citizens and democracy.
And, of course, Sept. 30 is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a day whose meaning many Canadians are still trying to get their heads around.
By now, many Canadians know the Truth and Reconciliation Commission presented 94 calls to action aimed at redressing the legacy of Canada’s residential schools system and working on reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples.
Calls to action 84 to 86 speak to Canada’s news media.
Number 84 urges the federal government “to restore and increase funding to the CBC/Radio-Canada” so it can support reconciliation and reflect the diversity of Indigenous Peoples.
What becomes of call to action 84 under a Conservative government? How would a hollowed-out Canadian Broadcasting Corp. deliver on that?
The CBC plays an unmistakable leadership role in journalism and entertainment. It’s one of the big kids on the block, and its behaviour influences everybody else.
At a time when we’re trying to better understand the history and culture of Indigenous Peoples, Canadians should be nervous about the impact less money for the CBC would have.
If the CBC doesn’t have enough money to deliver on its call to action, might other news organizations falter as well?
Call to action 85 recommends the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network — a competitor of Nunatsiaq News — provide programming and cultural leadership to reflect the diversity of Indigenous culture, language and perspectives.
In the news business, competition leads to better journalism. Canadians should welcome APTN’s delivering on call to action 85 because it will lead to other media outlets following that lead.
Call to action 86 says Canadian journalism schools should require students to be educated on the history of Indigenous Peoples, including on the history and legacy of residential schools, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and Indigenous-Crown relations.
As an employer of recent journalism school graduates, Nunatsiaq News has observed a growing awareness among them, but it’s still not what it could be.
None of those three calls to action directly applies to Nunatsiaq News, but as journalists who cover Inuit-majority territories of Nunavut and Nunavik, we have a stake in the outcome.
Higher expectations on CBC, APTN and journalism schools will push all news outlets to do better.
Lowered expectations on any one of those calls to action risks diminishing the media’s role in reconciliation more broadly.
GOING TO HAVE TO BE A LOT OF CUTBACKS , JUSTIN MAXED OUT THE CREDITCARD AND THE ACCOUNT IS IN OVERDRAFT !!!
Indigenous people have good reason to be wary of the current wave of Conservative leaders, who are farther to the right than the previous generation. In British Columbia, which goes to the polls on Oct. 19, the Conservative leader has said he would repeal B.C.’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. That legislation is considered foundational to reconciliation. The BC Conservatives also intend to reverse other agreements made under the current NDP government. The possibility that a new Conservative government would consider repealing legislation enshrining the rights of Indigenous peoples should be alarming to us all.
It might be alarming to you, but there are many who would strongly support it, as they should.
Really phoned this one in…
People have lost respect for mainstream media, and i would include Nunatsiaq in that phenomena.
Have to agree with you. I have seen the quality of NNews decrease over the years. Also, I support defunding CBC as it has become nothing more than a propaganda and hate mongerer over the years. More so since 3025.
There are still, a more than a few, people who get news from reputable journalists, medical advice from doctors, legal advice from lawyers, rely on police and military to protect our freedom. Fortunately we have that luxury of having these services in Canada. There are those among us that prefer to hear from the misinformed, misguided and extremists who are supposedly defending our freedoms. An obstructionist, disruptor, fact manipulator using the guise of protecting our freedom does not sit well with many of us. We and our ancestors have worked and fought too hard to create this nation to surrender to the current trend of rage and insults.
Sure, but where is the bright line between a reputable journalist or an “obstructionist, disruptor, fact manipulator”? It might not always be as clear as we’d like, or expect it to be.
Do you think the CBC, or Nunatsiaq have ever manipulated information? Almost certainly, and it may be well meaning and unintentional. Still, bias, pack journalism, groupthink can consistently slant perspectives and focus in directions that omit and dismiss certain facts and context. We see it here all the time.
Public trust in the media is indeed falling off a cliff, down to 37% among English speaking Canadians in 2023 (Reuters Institute).
https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/digital-news-report/2023/canada
This trend correlating with increased cynicism over the veracity of news that is supported by government funding.
https://thehub.ca/2024/07/08/deepdive-government-funding-of-the-news-industry-is-eroding-canadians-trust-in-the-media/
The idea that the CBC must survive because ‘reconciliation’ is about the most anodyne, normie take I can think of right now
I think a lot of people today are uncomfortable with the amount of cultural power the CBC has. They share different intuitions about the world, and feel it is no longer in dialog with them.
How are gun laws abide by Inuit hunting traditional hunting rights? I don’t feel safe having guns inside any houses here in Nunavut. I don’t hunt or do any hunting stuff, but many do like to carry guns checking for nets or going one day Caribou hunting, buts it’s not safe having unlicensed gun inside homes. Don’t even show guns on social media. Really unsafe
If CBC is issuing millions of dollars worth of “PERFORMAVR bonuses to their executives for running deficits they do not deserve tax pay grants.