Budget 2024 has revealed the Trudeau government plans to provide more funding to the CBC than CSIS this year for the sake of “our democracy”.
“CBC/Radio-Canada is key to our democracy,” reads Budget 2024. And that’s why Trudeau is giving them $42 million for 2024-25 to continue producing “independent” and “high-quality” journalism.
As per page 236 of the budget, “Budget 2024 proposes to provide $42 million in 2024-25 for CBC/RadioCanada news and entertainment programming, ensuring Canadians across the country … have access to high-quality, independent journalism and entertainment.”
Forty-two million doesn’t sound like that much, especially considering how much the government has doled out to Canada’s national news organization in the past. A bigger issue is that CSIS, the organization designed to safeguard Canadians’ national security, is receiving $12 million less.
As per the budget, CSIS will only be receiving $30 million this year, with increasing payments in years to come—the government has not specified whether they will also be paying the CBC more in the coming years.
This low amount is particularly concerning given the revelation that there were concerted efforts from China to interfere in the last two elections, which were somewhat successful.
As per a CSIS document drafted in response to leaks of potential foreign interference in the 2021 election, CSIS officials wrote, “We know that the [People’s Republic of China] clandestinely and deceptively interfered both in the 2019 and 2021 general elections.”
Trudeau remains utterly unconcerned
If anything, CSIS should be getting a boost in funding so that they can better protect Canadians, but Trudeau doesn’t seem concerned.
But that shouldn’t come as too much of a shock to Canadians.
During the public inquiry on foreign interference, Trudeau openly admitted that the reason he didn’t do his due diligence in safeguarding the last two elections despite numerous warnings from CSIS is that he doesn’t even read security briefings, preferring to receive critical national security information after the fact from media organizations like the CBC.
Specifically, when asked whether he was aware of Chinese foreign interference during elections that CSIS was actively investigating, Trudeau said, “During the 2021 election, no. Shortly after the 2021 election, when the Conservative Party went public with its concerns in the week that followed, I learned about it through media reports.”
Put simply, it’s pretty clear which organizations Trudeau values and this is reflected in the budget.
