Senate committee says ‘course correction’ needed at CBC to address bias, local coverage concerns

A new Senate committee report is calling for changes at Canada’s public broadcaster to fix concerns around CBC/Radio-Canada’s impartiality and local coverage. Released on Wednesday, the Senate communications committee’s report culminated a monthslong study into the CBC’s local news offerings, which featured testimony from nearly 60 witnesses. Recommendations included a call for the federal government to provide the broadcaster with multi-year funding, an updated Broadcasting Act to emphasize local coverage in the CBC’s mandate, and regular independent reviews of the CBC’s coverage to “assess its fairness and balance.” When asked by The Wire Report whether the committee felt such investigations were meant to prevent or correct existing issues, Sen. David Wells said the reviews would do “both.” “I don’t want to go back and talk about possible biases,” said Wells. “We’ve all heard them. Anyone in Canada that is involved in public life has heard them.” “What we’d like is independent people who are experts in this to look at this and see if there is a drift and that can be corrected in the future.” The CBC has come under increased scrutiny in recent months over allegations that the broadcaster has downplayed Conservative perspectives on its programming. Former CBC anchor Travis Dhanraj told a parliamentary committee earlier this year that CBC executives repeatedly stopped him from interviewing Conservative voices on his show Canada Tonight. Other public officials, including Sen. Andrew Cardozo, a former CRTC commissioner, has pushed back against the idea that the public broadcaster’s coverage is biased against Conservatives. “Our recommendations are forward-looking,” said Wells. “The intent of is to ensure Canadians are well-served by an unbiased, federally-funded media.” In response to a request from The Wire Report, a CBC spokesperson said the broadcaster is “still studying the report and have any comment, for now.” Wells, a Conservative senator appointed by ex-prime minister Stephen Harper, acknowledged the CBC provides a “required service” in rural and remote areas, as well as for linguistic minority communities.” “ if the CBC didn’t exist today, no one would invent it,” he said. “It shows to me there has to be a course correction in how CBC acts in the public and for the public.” Conservatives have long-advocated for the public broadcaster to be defunded. During last year’s federal election campaign, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre (Battle River—Crowfoot, Alta.) suggested he would completely scrap the broadcaster in English-speaking Canada, while maintaining Radio-Canada’s presence in French-speaking regions. Last year’s budget earmarked an additional $150 million for the CBC, though the Liberals reduced the broadcaster’s year-over-year funding by $192 million for 2026-27. The CBC was shut out in the government’s recent spring economic update, though various sources have said Ottawa may allocate additional funding later this year. When asked by The Wire Report last month, Canadian Culture Minister Marc Miller (Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Sœurs, Que.) said he couldn’t “speculate” on future decisions, but the CBC “certainly got a lot” in the latest annual budget. Sen. Donna Dasko said the Senate committee didn’t recommend a specific funding cycle for the CBC, but suggested the government transition away from a year-by-year model. “I think what’s important is the stability of the funding so that planning can be carried out in a better fashion to respond to changes that happen on an annual basis,” she said during Wednesday’s press conference in Ottawa. Ahead of the report’s release, various industry players expressed concerns to The Wire Report regarding the state of funding for the public broadcaster under the current Liberal government. “Quite frankly, I thought there would be a bit more support,” said Joe Recupero, a media professor at Toronto Metropolitan University, following the spring economic update. “I don’t know with Carney (Nepean, Ont.)” “Especially at times like this, a public broadcaster is needed more now than ever and I think all we need to do is look south of us and see what’s going on.” Recupero described the public broadcaster as a “necessity” for a functioning democracy and a “lifeline” for Canadians living in less-populated areas. “It provides something above-and-beyond what other platforms are doing,” added Recupero, who worked at the CBC for more than 20 years. “I’m just a little disappointed that I haven’t seen more love yet.” Meanwhile, Dwayne Winseck, a communications and media studies professor at Carleton University, has long advocated for Ottawa to offer a more stable funding approach for the CBC. “There’s a good case that the government is viewing this in a short-sighted way,” said Winseck, before the Senate report’s release. “A more engaged approach to the CBC would have kept that top-up made it permanent.” “It’s this idea of putting the CBC’s funding on a longer-term footing, instead of this annual assessment. It would be a really helpful addition… and it would also signal greater autonomy for the public broadcaster.” dlegree@thewirereport.ca

Senate committee says ‘course correction’ needed at CBC to address bias, local coverage concerns

Broadcast |
By Davis Legree
|June 17, 2026

Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need.

FREE TRIAL

SUBSCRIBE

Inside The Wire Report

Information

Hill Times Publishing

Get in Touch With Us

Senate committee says ‘course correction’ needed at CBC to address bias, local coverage concerns

Broadcast | By Davis Legree |June 17, 2026

Unlock all the Canadian telecom, broadcasting and digital media news you need.

FREE TRIAL

SUBSCRIBE

MPs ask CRTC to impose French-language content quotas on English-language radio stations

He shoots, he scorns! CBC dropping Hockey Night in Canada after 95 years

CBC unveils two new documentary funds and boosts support to a third

Related Stories

He shoots, he scorns! CBC dropping Hockey Night in Canada after 95 years

Bloc wants limits on Radio-Canada ads, reintroduction of digital services tax

CBC should be more daring in news programming, says ex-heritage minister James Moore

Conservative MP accuses CBC of ‘poaching’ journalists from local outlets

Reuse & Permissions

Inside The Wire Report

Information

Hill Times Publishing

Get in Touch With Us

Broadcast |
By Davis Legree
|June 17, 2026