Premier Pauline Marois has announced that, in relation to Ottawa, her sovereigntist government will assert its rights in the area of culture.
If this means anything, it means that her government intends to assume control of Radio-Canada. Of all cultural expenditures, broadcasting is by far the most significant.
The morning after the Quebec election, Tony Manera, former president of CBC/Radio-Canada (1993–1995), sent this letter to The Globe and Mail:
“Federalists have been missing the boat by not stressing the fact that the French-language services of the CBC, commonly referred to as Radio-Canada, are highly popular in Quebec.
“One of the arguments advanced by the sovereigntists is that only an independent Quebec can ensure the survival of the French language and culture. It is relatively easy to challenge such a notion by pointing out the key role played by Radio-Canada over the past 60 years or so in fostering the use of French and in the development of Québécois culture.
“Radio-Canada is a federal institution, funded more generously than its English-language counterpart (on a per-capita basis), managed by a federally appointed board of directors and president.”
Quebec is heavily in debt.
It is safe to assume that the new government in Quebec will put the control of Radio-Canada at the bottom of its lists of demands.
My - how important Ms. Marois’s assertions must be to Quebec’s economic independence and interests - doesn’t Quebec already have significant control over education, language and immigration? And surprising old Steven Harper has already acknowledged Quebec as a nation within a nation… Maybe Quebecois nationalists could grow up and focus on more important priorities - jobs? the environment? what’s happening in the big old outside world? And if not, hold a clear referendum, already!