Heritage Minister James Moore, who answers to Parliament for the CBC, was quite clear on May 3, the day after the last election.
No way would the Conservative majority government cut a single red penny from the CBC budget.
Moore did not mince his words. He wanted people to take him at his word.
"We believe in the public broadcaster," Moore proclaimed. "We will maintain or increase support for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation."
Moore went on Radio-Canada in Vancouver to make his solemn pledge.
That was then. This is now. Everything has changed. The Conservatives have a majority in Parliament now.
Last week, in its budget, the Conservative government cut the CBC budget by $115 million - the largest funding cut ever in the history of the public broadcaster.
No excuse, no explanation.
Moore did not lie. It was Stephen Harper who decided otherwise.
Who cares what a conservative cabinet minister promises. It is Harper who decides. And when he cuts. . . . he cuts! No matter what his minister might have promised on the air waves.
Some will have reason to be happy. Media baron Pierre-Karl Péladeau, has been preaching for a long time that the CBC gets too much money from the federal government.
Péladeau has been in open war against Radio-Canada, his main rival in French-language broadcasting in Canada.
And Moore's promise? Well, Moore is still young. He'll learn. It's Harper who runs things. Moore's promise is worth what it's worth. . .
