Empty gestures

Not surprisingly, PMPM is much more willing to give symbolic support to CBC workers than to actually deal with the underlying problems. Martin has declared that no cabinet minister will cross a CBC picket line for Michaelle Jean's swearing-in. Which in and of itself is a reasonable enough show of support for the workers, were it not for this:

Even in absolute dollars, CBC funding still hasn't caught up to where it was in the early '90s. Think that might play a role in management needing to cut costs by eliminating the benefits of secure full-time work?

Mind you, the chart ends a few years ago. And there's a chance that now that the deficit isn't the concern that it used to be, the situation is better, right? Not so, according to this:

Canadians should be outraged at the manipulative way this government has dealt with our national public broadcaster. Not one additional cent for Canadian programming, but for the 5th year in a row the Liberals have trotted out the same $60 million in extra one-year funding. This creates the public impression of giving the CBC an increase without actually doing so...

The CBC has repeatedly begged the government to add that $60 million to its base budget so it can be used for program production commitments that have to be made a year or two in advance. But the Liberals clearly relish dangling the money in front of CBC supporters every year as if it were something new.

It's well and good not to cross the picket line. But it was Martin's cuts that put the CBC in dire straits in the first place, and it's his political games that are preventing it from being confident of even stable funding for now.

As soon as Martin reverses the choices of the last decade, then he can claim to be looking out for the interests of CBC's workers (not to mention the millions of Canadians who enjoy CBC's programming). Until that happens, PMPM deserves at least as big a target on his back as does Robert Rabinovitch. Both sides of the dispute know this; the general public needs to as well.