The CBC is in danger from the TPP!

CBC‏

CBC

Angus Wong, SumOfUs.org

8/12/15

 Newsletters

To: Joseph Raglione

Leaked documents show our CBC will be unrecognizable -- even sold off to private interests -- if the TPP deal passes. We have a plan to stop TPP-supporter Stephen Harper from destroying the CBC. Can you chip in CA$1 to save the CBC? Donate CA$1 now Joseph, Documents were just leaked from the top-secret Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations -- and the news is bad for our CBC. If the TPP passes, it could be required to operate entirely for profit. And worse -- this move could force the CBC to be privatized. The mission of the CBC is to tell the bilingual and multicultural story of Canada – but if we let this deal go through, the CBC’s only goal will be corporate profit. Canadian politicians are extremely vulnerable to public pressure right now as they head into one of the longest election campaigns in Canadian history -- let’s make sure our CBC is protected and not sold off for profit.Harper has been busy making cuts to the CBC and other crown corporations for years, and honestly, we’ve had enough. These institutions represent part of the fabric of the country, and we need to defend them now from the TPP. Stephen Harper was gunning to agree to the extreme TPP deal in secret talks held just last week in Hawaii -- and importantly, before the election was announced so he wouldn’t have to answer to voters on the campaign trail. But the talks broke down -- in part because of the work of the SumOfUs community. Public opposition is growing by the day so Harper is doubling down to pass the TPP quickly. We have no idea if this is in the text of the deal at this point -- the whole deal is being negotiated entirely in secret -- but we can’t afford to wait and find out if Harper tries to unilaterally rubber stamp the TPP deal. We have a plan to make sure Harper doesn’t facilitate a corporate takeover of the CBC during this election campaign, but we need your help to make it happen. The TPP deal, in addition to putting our CBC in danger, will further corporatize Canada andput the environment, food safety standards and access to medicine at huge risk. Harper called the election a whole month early -- because he thinks money is all it takes to hold on to power. Conservative MPs spent the days before the writ dropped on a corporate spending spree -- literally spending $4 billion to help secure votes. Trade deals like the TPP will mean that we won't have a publicly-funded national broadcaster free from corporate influence -- something we desperately need. That's the point of the CBC: to provide a tonic to Americanized corporate channels, and ensure that Canadian writers, actors, producers and broadcasters have a place to grow and develop a national consciousness. The CBC used to excel at this and even now, crippled by successive funding cuts, it punches far above its weight. SumOfUs members have been fighting for the CBC and against the TPP for years. Just last week, over 30,000 of us signed a petition calling for Harper to save the CBC and scrap the TPP. And with the coming election, now is our chance to say loud and clear that we don't want a Canada without a fully funded public broadcaster. That means no to the TPP and no programming shilled out to private interests. Will you chip in CA$1 to stop the TPP and save our CBC??Chip in CA$1 now to save the CBC from a corporate takeover. Thanks for all you do, Angus, Emma and the rest of the us at SumOfUs Canada Society ************ Further reading: TPP Trade Deal Proposal Would See CBC, Canada Post Exist Solely For Profit. Huffington Post. July 30, 2015. Analysis of Leaked TPPA Paper for Ministers' Guidance on SOEs. Wikileaks, July 28, 2015.  SumOfUs is a worldwide movement of people like you, working together to hold corporations accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable path for our global economy. This email was sent to human4us@bell.net. | Unsubscribe