Catch 22 Campaign needs your support
Defeating Harper the same as a vote to Save the CBC
Dear Catch 22 Supporters,
For those of you living in Catch 22 ridings, how you vote on May 2nd could very well help decide whether or not the CBC will be ransacked and handed over to Stephen Harper’s adoring friends in private broadcasting.It’s no secret that Harper and his cronies are in favour of silencing the CBC as an independent media voice – something that will be high on their “to do” list if they win an electoral majority.
“ . . . maybe it’s time we get out of the broadcasting business . . .” http://www.friends.ca/news-item/9854
— Dean Del Mastro, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, muses about cutting all funding to the CBC, November 26, 2010. .
With the Conservatives well ahead in the opinion polls this week, smart voting by concerned Canadians in swing ridings and close races may be the only way to make sure they don’t win their much-sought-after majority. If enough Canadians get involved, strategic campaigning can work!
A dedicated team of hard-working Catch 22 volunteers across the country needs your financial support so that Harper can be stopped. We lack the financial resources of the pro-business, anti-democratic Conservatives, so every dollar you can donate is greatly needed. Every $22 donation can help us reach 200 voters in target ridings. Or, if you can manage it, $222 would be even better.
Any contribution will be a big help, so please make a donation today! Only four weeks are left for us to work together and turn the tide against Harper. You can donate by cheque or Paypal.
Throughout its five years in power, the Harperites have shown their lack of support for the CBC by failing to keep its funding in line with inflation. They have tried to cripple the CBC and make it look weak and inept so that Canadians won’t be too upset when the Mother Corp. is gutted and handed off to the private sector.
Many of us don’t approve of some of the things the CBC has done to try to stay alive but, even so, its destruction would be a disaster for the country. The CBC – particularly CBC Radio – ties Canada together. The CBC is the only reliable source of independent news in the country. Even with its budget slashed, the CBC is the home of Canadian arts and culture.
In the lead up to the 2004 election, on May 19, 2004, when Stephen Harper was asked by a CBC reporter in Winnipeg to comment on his plans for the CBC, he said:
“I’ve suggested that government subsidies in support of CBC’s services should be to those things that do not have commercial alternatives.” (www.friends.ca/News/Friends_News/archives/articles05190403)
Catch 22 is waging an all-out, cross-country campaign to see that Harper does not get the chance to privatize the CBC. We are asking Canadians to support strong opposition candidates from all parties that our grass roots members are recommending.
We need your assistance now so we can expand our campaign during these final four weeks. We have to be able to pay for internet services, make phone calls, research and write reports, print literature, etc. Please go to the donations page on our website and show your support.
One final word from one of Harper’s boys:
“The CBC lies all the time. What media are you with?”
— Comment from Immigration Minister Jason Kenney after he was asked about whether a particular CBC report was true. February 15, 2011.
Please make your donation now and help rid Ottawa of the Harperites!
(The Catch 22 Campaign is registered as a Third Party with Elections Canada.This message authorized by the Financial Agent of the Catch 22 Campaign)