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Bryan Brulotte: The CBC needs reform, not reverence

A publicly funded broadcaster should not operate as a dominant player in commercial media markets while claiming to serve the entire country

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The debate over the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has become predictable. One side defends it as a pillar of national identity. The other calls for its outright defunding. Both positions miss the point. The CBC does not need to be preserved in its current form. Nor should it be dismantled entirely. What it requires is structural change rooted in first principles — clarity of purpose, fiscal discipline, and service to Canadians that the private market cannot or will not provide.

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The central problem is not simply cost. It is mandate drift and institutional culture. Over time, the CBC has expanded far beyond its original purpose as a public broadcaster serving national cohesion, regional access and cultural expression. Today, it operates across a wide range of commercial media spaces, competing directly with private firms in news, entertainment and digital content. It does so with the advantage of public funding. That model is neither sustainable nor defensible.

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