DROVER: BUSTED! CBC caught trying to keep Canadians in the dark

Published Jul 12, 2025 • Last updated Jul 12, 2025 • 3 minute read

The CBC/Radio Canada sign on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporations building in Vancouver is pictured on May 28, 2013. Photo by Gerry Kahrmann /Postmedia Network files

The CBC just got caught trying to shut the courtroom doors on Canadians.

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Yes, the same CBC that spent years preaching about transparency and the public’s right to know. Now, when it suits them, they’re the ones trying to keep journalists out of courtrooms.

Last month, the state broadcaster lost a court battle to impose a publication ban on a misconduct hearing involving one of its own managers, as first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter.

The facts are simple: An independent workplace investigation found that a CBC producer harassed a colleague. He was suspended for a month without pay and his union filed a grievance. In return, the CBC tried to keep the whole thing secret.

Thankfully, the Québec Superior Court was having none of it.

“The publicity of the proceedings is strongly presumed,” ruled Justice Ian Demers. “The consequences of disclosure must outweigh any inconvenience, annoyance or embarrassment.”

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Let’s be clear: The CBC wanted to block rival reporters from covering a case that made the CBC look bad. That’s not protecting privacy, that’s protecting reputations.

But the CBC’s hypocrisy is staggering.

This is the same broadcaster that fought to televise Supreme Court proceedings. The same broadcaster that once argued the open court principle is a cornerstone of democracy.

But, when its own misconduct is on the line, the CBC suddenly wants a media blackout.

Canadian taxpayers shouldn’t have to put up with this.

Taxpayers are forced to shell out more than $1 billion a year to the CBC — a media outlet that fewer and fewer Canadians actually watch.

And instead of using that money to build trust with taxpayers, the CBC is doing the opposite.

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Here at the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, we’ve spent years trying to figure out where your money is going. We’ve filed access to information requests asking basic questions: How much is the CBC spending on executive bonuses? How much money are they wasting on advertising? How much is being poured into public polling and so-called research?

The results are almost always the same — pages and pages of redactions and black ink.

The lack of transparency is offensive.

It shouldn’t take legal action to find out how a taxpayer-funded broadcaster spends taxpayer money. But that’s exactly what we’ve had to do.

Right now, the CTF is in federal court because the CBC refuses to release even the total amount it spends on advertising. Not detailed invoices or confidential contracts, but just the total amount they spend.

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That’s how little respect the CBC has for the people who pay the bills.

Instead of justifying its funding with real transparency and real accountability, the CBC is doubling down on secrecy. That’s not how a responsible, taxpayer-funded organization behaves. That’s how an entitled government bureaucracy acts when it thinks it’s above scrutiny.

Looking at the ratings, the CBC knows it’s losing relevance.

According to its latest quarterly report, only 1.7% of English-speaking Canadians are tuning in to its flagship prime-time news program. That means more than 98% of viewers are choosing something else.

Yet taxpayers are still forced to pay the freight.

At this point, it’s not just about waste, but about principle. No organization that feeds off taxpayer funds should be allowed to operate in the shadows.

And it’s about setting a precedent. Too many federal agencies and Crown corporations think they can keep taxpayers in the dark. If the CBC gets away with this kind of secrecy, it sets a dangerous principle for the entire federal bureaucracy.

Canadians deserve better.

They deserve to know how their money is being spent. They deserve real transparency. And they deserve a government that doesn’t treat accountability like a threat.

Enough is enough.

Devin Drover is general counsel for the Canadian Taxpayers Federation

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