CBC cut Indigenous services spending in 2023, Blacklock’s report says

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Access-to-information records showed the CBC cut Indigenous-language services spending in 2023, which made up less than 0.5% of its budget, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.

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The CBC’s annual report said that of its $1.9-billion budget last year, Indigenous services totalled $6,426,320 or about 0.3% of the overall budget. Access-to-information records indicated that was a reduction of $25,680.

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Figures were disclosed in response to a request for the “amount of money spent by the CBC on services offered in Indigenous languages.”

However, CBC president Catherine Tait told the House of Commons heritage committee on Nov. 2 that the public broadcaster had “fantastically exciting” Indigenous shows.

“With respect to the Indigenous framework, we have an obligation to serve all Canadians and that includes the First Nations, Métis and Inuit Peoples of this country,” said Tait, while not actually mentioning spending on Indigenous services.

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“What is fantastically exciting about the work we’ve done over the last two years is we’ve come to a place where not only will we be increasing the amount of Indigenous-created and Indigenous-produced content on our network, but we’ve made a commitment to ensure our employee base and our leadership teams have greater representation from Indigenous Peoples.”

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“What are the risks to Canadians if CBC’s funding is cut?” asked Liberal MP Lisa Hepfner (Hamilton Mountain) at the time.

“The risks are significant because without CBC we would live in a disconnected society,” replied Tait. “It is very difficult to have common ideas and values.”

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