It may not be widely known, but Yorkton-Melville Conservative MP Garry Breitkreuz may have found himself another cause to champion.
Breitkreuz has long been known as the champion for the abolishment of the long gun registry, which the Conservatives are in the process of ending.
Like many things in government, the long gun registry is one of those things that made sense for the country, but was so badly mismanaged it became a boondoggle.
The simple idea of registering firearms is not without merit, but the bureaucracy killed it.
If you went to buy a rifle, the seller accessed an online form, filled it in and hit send, the process would have been far more palatable.
Unfortunately the Liberals would not admit the program design failure, and the Conservatives are tossing the whole idea away rather than trying to save the worthwhile aspect of knowing who has firearms.
Breitkreuz expended hundreds of hours on the issue, and frankly the benefit to residents in his constituency is negligible at best.
And now we have this from Breitkreuz. "Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure today to present a large number of petitions from Canadians from coast to coast. The petitioners call upon the government to de-fund the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. They would particularly like to draw the attention of the House to the fact that the Government of Canada funds the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to the sum of $1.1 billion per year and that the vast amount of the Government of Canada funding gives the CBC an unfair advantage over its private sector competitors. The petitioners call upon Parliament to end the public funding of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation."
Now we are all aware the CBC's views are decidedly left of the Conservatives, so to quiet what the government sees as a voice of dissent follows their recent heavy-handed tactics in ending Parliamentary debate, something that is purely an attempt to avoid criticism when as a majority the government will ultimately carry the day.
The CBC is one of those rare institutions which champions those groups which as minorities often have a limited voice.
Large business and lobby efforts have the funds to buy media attention through advertising.
Small groups need a herald to speak for them and publicly-funded broadcast provides that.
The CBC also provides an outlet for indie artists, jazz, blues, folk and opera. They may not have an audience to be fully commercial, but they add to the cultural fabric of our nation.
Are there ways to lessen the costs of the CBC? Of course, just as government itself has fat and inefficiencies, the CBC will have too.
But to end an institution which looks at issues through purely Canadian glasses and broadens our culture on numerous levels would be folly, if not one of the greatest mistakes of government in our lifetime.
It is to be hoped our MP does not waste time on this, but instead focuses on how to help local constituents, such as accessing federal money for municipal infrastructure renewal, dollars for regionally important airports which do not have scheduled passenger service, or dollars to address the issue of housing for the working poor.
