Our Public Airwaves
A new vision for Canadian broadcasting

MEMO

TO:  Supporters of the CBC and Canadian Programming

FROM:  Arthur Lewis

SUBJECT:  Ten days left to act
_____________________________________________________    

Dear friends and supporters,

The CBC is seriously threatened and we have to act before it's too late.

The Conservatives appear poised to form the next government, but few
Canadians are aware of Conservative plans for CBC.  Stephen Harper has
said on two occasions during the election that a Conservative government
will commercialize parts of the CBC including the English TV network and
Radio Two.  

It's not too late to head that off.  Regardless of which party wins, we
have to send a message that we want a stronger CBC, not a more commercial
one.  Please visit our campaign website at: [ http://www.supportcbc.ca
]www.SupportCBC.ca   It is imperative to send that message right away to
all of the major party leaders and you can do that in one simple step on
our website.  

In light of the threat from the Conservatives, we also implore you to
forward this message to your personal e-mail list.  Please encourage
everyone you know to join you in this campaign in support of a stronger
CBC.

We believe that when Mr. Harper says commercialize, he really means
privatize.  At the very least it means the Conservatives want to cut
public funding for CBC instead of increasing it as called for by the
recent report of the all-party Heritage Committee.  Instead of providing
Canadians with more Canadian programming, the Conservatives want to turn
the CBC into another commercial network that sells us to advertisers
rather than serving us as citizens.  

If you think this message is overly alarmist, [
http://www.supportcbc.ca/petition/cbc/index.php?page=partypositions#cons
]I invite you to review Mr. Harper's exact words  as well as the positions
of the other major parties on our campaign website.   

When the candidates come knocking for your vote, tell them you want a
stronger CBC.  And if you attend an election meeting, please challenge the
Conservative candidate on this issue.  We must make our voices heard
before it's too late!   

You can start by visiting our website at [ http://www.supportcbc.ca
]www.SupportCBC.ca and sending a message.

Thanks again for your support.




Arthur Lewis
Executive Director
Our Public Airwaves

P.O. Box 4400, Station E
Ottawa, ON   K1S 5B4
Tel.: 613  237-3555
Fax: 613  237-0003
mailto:arthur@publicairwaves.ca