Prime Minister Martin,

I am writing to you to encourage you to please intervene in getting a rapid and fair resolution to the CBC lockout. The longer this labour dispute continues, the more irreparable harm will be done to this essential nation building institution.

The CBC is still a viable unifying medium. Although not every Canadian turns to the CBC for all their information and entertainment, every Canadian is affected by the labour dispute. Football and hockey fans will receive paltry coverage of the beloved sports. Current affairs junkies are left out of the loop with irrelevant BBC broadcasts. Our wittiest comedians are left to crack jokes on the picket lines instead of in our living rooms. Even yourself will be directly affected when the first scrum will take place after question period when Julie Van Dusen, Eric Sorenson and Keith Boag are not there to act as the voice of Canadians coast to coast to coast.

The CBC Radio acts as the direct line to the country and to the world for many people like the mother of Senator Jim Munsen (please ask him about how the lockout has affected his family). For myself, it was CBC Radio that connected me to my new city. It provided continuity from moving from Winnipeg to Ottawa; although the voices were different, the necessary information was provided to me in the most professional and closely to objective fashion that we can only expect from the CBC. Private radio leaves me wishing that I was back in Manitoba whereas the CBC makes me feel like home everywhere in Canada.

The CBC is to provide Canadians with a public service. Currently, they are not living up to its raison-d'être to the country. As proud owners of the nation's best radio and television networks, we demand the return of the people that make the CBC great.

As our Prime Minister, you have the power to bring back the CBC to the people. Canadians want Canadian programming. We want to hear our stories, watch our own actors, witness our history and we can not do that without our public broadcaster. We need your help.



With confidence,



Joel [ ]

Ottawa