Heritage Committee Hearings on Radio 2

Via insidethecbc.com: The House of Commons standing committee on Canadian heritage at the suggestion of NDP heritage critic Bill Siksay is set to hold hearings on the announced changes coming to CBC Radio 2. It's a shame. The NDP is generally closer to the mark on arts and culture issues.

I do not doubt that, as Siskay said

“I’m concerned that the commitment to classical music in Canada is a key part of the Canadian culture. CBC Radio 2 has been a key player in classical music,”

but I would hold that music generally is a key part of Canadian culture. I do not believe that the place of music in Canadian culture is genre specific. Canada is, by choice, a multi-cultural country and being multi-cultural leads to a broad spectrum of musical forms. I see no reason why a single genre should be held up as vital to Canadian culture at the expense of all others.

I hope, and believe, that this is a political move aimed at placating the classical music fans who have been up in arms over the proposed changes. Parliament, after all, has no direct ability to change CBC's content. They may, if they so choose, change the mandate of the CBC and/or appoint over time a Board of Directors that thinks and acts differently than the current board. Parliament could not though, for example, bring back jPod. I don't believe that Parliament would mandate that the CBC play a particular type of music at a specific time on a specific channel.

Hopefully, through this process the Heritage Committee will come to a better understanding of the thought process behind these changes and the value of diversity.