CPAC CEO says temporary funding from feds a ‘Band-Aid,’ calls on CRTC to reverse rate-increase deferral

The CEO of Cable Public Affairs Channel Inc. (CPAC) says temporary funding from the federal government will not make a dent in the organization’s financial crisis. During a press conference Q&A on Thursday, Dec. 18, new Canadian Identity and Culture Minister Marc Miller announced that the government will be extending its temporary support for public service media. Miller says the funding, encompassing $8 million over two years, will start in 2026-27 for about 12 eligible media services, including CPAC. Miller said the announcement was “important” because “these media providers were looking at a number of difficult decisions over the next few weeks.” Indeed, CPAC is facing critical decisions to stay afloat. In November, CEO Christa Dickenson told The Wire Report that CPAC is “emaciated.” Voluntary early departure programs, layoffs, and attrition have allowed CPAC to continue limping along in the short term, but the organization faces a situation so dire, that going dark is a grim possibility, according to Dickenson. The temporary support from the feds will do nothing to ease that reality, she says. A press release from the government said the funding will allow the services to maintain the “quality and relevance” of their programming until the CRTC decides how it will ensure their financial viability under the Online Streaming Act. But for CPAC, Dickenson says that is simply untrue. “Is that appreciated? Yes. Is it meaningful when our gap is in the millions of dollars? It’s a Band-Aid,” she told The Wire Report in an interview following the announcement. Despite that, Dickenson says it is a good start, and she “can’t iterate enough” how much she appreciates the commitment from the government, as it gives her hope for what the future may hold. “It means that the government understands that we are in a pickle, and that we’re important and we need help,” she says. It is unclear how much of the $8 million CPAC will see, but Dickenson expects to sit down with the Heritage Department in the new year to discuss how the funds will be allocated. When the government announced a similar investment — $10 million over two years — in the 2024 budget, Dickenson says CPAC saw a few hundred thousand dollars. That 2024 announcement also included another $5 million earmarked specifically “in support of CPAC's capital requirements to modernize its aging broadcast infrastructure,” according to the broadcaster’s website. But even if CPAC were to see a large chunk of the funding, it would not solve the problem. What Dickenson needs right now is sustained income that will allow her to obtain a bank loan to continue the rebuild of her capital infrastructure, she explained. In July 2024, CPAC submitted a Part 1 application with the CRTC which proposed increasing its regulated wholesale fee for basic carriage to 16 cents per month, effective September 2026. That is a 3 cent increase, which, according to Dickenson, would amount to an extra $3 million per year. Currently, Dickenson says CPAC operates on less than $15 million a year, and brings in no advertising or paywall revenue. But in November, the CRTC deferred its consideration of the application, citing its continued implementation of the modernized Broadcasting Act. That decision, or lack thereof, is only exacerbating the situation. Because just like the federal support, the proposed rate increase is also only a bandaid, intended to keep CPAC breathing until 2028. Beyond short-term financing and mid-term rate increases, Dickenson says CPAC needs a long-term solution, which she hopes to see in the creation of a ‘services of exceptional importance fund.’ For Dickenson, the only way CPAC can live to see the day a permanent solution comes around, is for the CRTC to come back to the table and approve the rate increase in time for September. “The CRTC has sole agency over the future of CPAC right now,” she says. “They hold all the cards.” For Dickenson, CPAC is an important pillar of democracy. While it is facing cuts to original shows and coverage hours, she says CPAC is striving to not compromise the quality of its output and editorial neutrality. Dickenson says in an age where discerning fact from fiction is nearly impossible, CPAC has become more important than ever. “When something goes wrong in this country, and we need to hear from politicians,” she says, “who do you turn to for the full picture, the full coverage? CPAC.” mcollins@thewirereport.ca

CPAC CEO says temporary funding from feds a ‘Band-Aid,’ calls on CRTC to reverse rate-increase deferral

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By Maria Collins
|December 22, 2025

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CPAC CEO says temporary funding from feds a ‘Band-Aid,’ calls on CRTC to reverse rate-increase deferral

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