CBC president and CEO Robert Rabinovitch vowed that the public broadcaster would expand its regional services when he appeared this week before a House of Commons standing committee determining whether he should be granted an extension of his tenure. Rabinovitch appeared November 15 before the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage marking the first time that the head of the public broadcaster, or any Crown corporation, required Parliamentary approval for an extension to his term. Rabinovitch came under heavy pressure by the same committee in 2000, though with different members, when he cut regional news programming – something he claimed was fiscally necessary at the time (CCR, July 6/2000). Saying that any cuts by the federal government to the CBC’s budget would ultimately affect programming, Rabinovitch said he would not trim regional shows any further.

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