Editorial — CBC should be ashamed

August 22, 2014 · 0 Comments

The left-wing political bias of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) is one of the worst-kept secrets in this country.
Thus it’s hard to be surprised that CBC would have broadcast the 2013 movie Jack Sunday night.
The movie was about the late Jack Layton, who was the leader of the federal New Democratic Party during the last election. As we have stated in this space before, we believe a lot of you would have experimented with how the words “Prime Minister Layton” rolled of the tongue as that memorable campaign came to a close.
The movie delved into some detail about that election campaign, during which Layton spent the bulk of his time walking with the aid of a cane, owing to hip surgery that had taken place shortly before the election writ was dropped. That was after a battle with prostrate cancer. But there was also a lot of attention paid to the very close and loving relationship between Layton and Olivia Chow. He married Chow in 1988, and the two worked as a political team for many years.
Layton, alas, died in 2011 (we’re coming up on the anniversary of his passing), and Chow now just happens to be running to be mayor of Toronto.
We could probably never have given a man like Layton our editorial endorsement. But as all Canadians should, we respected the man for his devotion to causes that were dear to so many of the people in our country, and for his sincerity to said causes.
The movie was a worthy tribute to a man and his values.
The timing of the showing of the movie, however, stunk the joint out.
Chow is currently in the middle of a hotly contested campaign for the proverbial “brass ring” of Toronto politics. There are many other people seeking that same office. Four very worthy front-runners are in that group with her, including the incumbent.
We would expect people involved with those other four campaigns (all of the other campaigns, for that matter) would have been very angry that CBC would have chosen to present a movie focusing on just one candidate so close to the election.
Is CBC planning to air comparable pieces about Rob Ford or John Tory? We doubt it.
Olivia Chow is certainly a worthy candidate for mayor of the megacity to the south, with lots of political experience in both the municipal and federal trenches. And if CBC believes it has the need to endorse her candidacy, then let Canada’s public broadcasting outlet be up front about it. They have no shortage of editorial commentators who can give her all the plugs they want.
But the free plug she received Sunday night was going too far.
If Chow is to be the next mayor, let her get to that office on her merits, not on who her late husband was.