Write Letters
Write your own personal letters to any or all of the following.
(See instructions & contact information below)
TO GOVERNMENT
- Prime Minister of Canada
- Minister of Heritage
- Minister of Foreign Affairs
- Deputy Minister of Heritage
- Minister of Finance
- Your Member of Parliament
- The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage
- The Culture Critics of the Opposition Parties
TO THE CBC
- The CBC Board of Directors
- CBC President and CEO
- CBC management
You can download our complete Letter Writing Toolkit by right-clicking here.
Vous pouvez télécharger la trousse en Français.What to Write
At this time, we recommend you write one or two emails/letters. (Whatever you write, we recommend you copy the letter to Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Foreign Affairs and to your local Member of Parliament.)
Letter #1 - to the CBC Board of Directors
Write an email and/or letter to Chair of the CBC Board of Directors, Mr. Timothy Casgrain (cc to CBC President and CEO Hubert. T. Lacroix) demanding CBC restore the CBC Radio Orchestra within a revitalized CBC.
Letter #2 - to the Federal Government (mailed free of charge)
Write an email/letter to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, James Moore (cc to Lawrence Cannonn, Minister of Foreign Affairs) insisting that increased and sustained funding be provided to the CBC to enable CBC to properly fulfill its mandate to Canada and the world.
Brief outline of what to say to whom:
Here is a guiding principle to keep in mind for your letter writing: one size does not fit all.
- For example, politicians can’t bring back your favourite CBC Radio host, only CBC management can.
- CBC management can’t change the amount of the CBC budget. Only the government can change the annual CBC allocation.
So when writing letters, here are suggestions about what to ask from each:
To Politicians
Request that sufficient funds be restored to the CBC so that its Radio Orchestra (which is also OUR Radio Orchestra) can continue its good work. More funding will help the CBC fulfill its mandate.
Secondly, you might ask that the Federal Government consider changing the governance structures of the CBC to disallow direct appointments to the Board of Directors of the CBC by the government.
To CBC
Did you know that CBC Board members are appointed by the Government of Canada and are announced by the Minister of Canadian Heritage?
The letter to Tim Casgrain, Chair of the Board, should ask if the Board of Directors is aware what management is doing, if the Board sees the negative effects of recent decisions (especially the destruction of the CBC Radio Orchestra), if the Board understands it is a question of priorities. They could and should give funding FIRST to the Orchestra and to intelligent programming–let the other chips fall where they may. THEN ask the Board to review carefully the programming changes being implemented by CBC management and to write you back to explain why the CBC has taken the direction it has in 2008.
You can download our complete Letter Writing Toolkit by right-clicking here.
Aussi disponible en français.
Organize a letter-writing campaign or party
Letter Writing Parties
A great way to get that letter written to the Prime Minister, the Minister of Heritage and Culture, and your Member of Parliament is to have a Letter Writing Party. It’s great fun and motivating to talk about your concerns with your friends and help each other brainstorm these letters. You can download our complete Letter Writing Toolkit by right-clicking here. Aussi disponible en français.
Letter Writing Stations at events
Another way to help is to get people to write letters before or at the intermission of a concert or event. Please contact the presenter of a concert, or other event, for permission to set up a letter writing station.
CONTACT INFORMATION
GOVERNMENT
ALL MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT, MINISTERS, AND THE PRIME MINISTER CAN BE CONTACTED BY REGULAR MAIL, FREE OF CHARGE (no stamp required) at this address:
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6
James Moore, Member of Parliament,
Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages
Telephone: (613) 992-9650
Fax: 604-937-5601
Constituency Office: 604-937-5650
Fax: 613-992-9868
E-Mail: Moore [dot] J [at] parl [dot] gc [dot] ca
Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Telephone: (613) 992-4211
Fax: (613) 941-6900
E-Mail: Harper [dot] S [at] parl [dot] gc [dot] ca
Your Member of Parliament
CLICK HERE TO GET CONTACT INFORMATION FOR ALL MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT ACROSS CANADA
Members of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, as of January 30, 2009
James Moore, Minister of Heritage (Conservative)
Moore [dot] J [at] parl [dot] gc [dot] ca
Gary Schellenberger, Chair (Conservative)
Schellenberger [dot] G [at] parl [dot] gc [dot] ca
Dean Del Mastro (Conservative)
DelMastro [dot] D [at] parl [dot] gc [dot] ca
Charlie Angus
Ruby Dhalla
Carole Lavallee
Rod Bruinooge
Shelly Glover
Roger Pomerleau
Scott Sims
Nina Grewal
Pablo Rodriguez
Tim Uppal
Members of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage as of July 2008.
The information below is now out of date as we wait for the new parliament.
Josée Verner, Minister of Heritage (Conservative)
Verner.J@parl.gc.ca
Gary Schellenberger, Chair (Conservative)
Schellenberger.G@parl.gc.ca
Bill Siksay, NDP culture critic
Siksay.B@parl.gc.ca
Denis Coderre, Liberal Heritage Critic
Coderre.D@parl.gc.ca
Maria Mourani, Vice chair (Bloc)
Mourani.Ma@parl.gc.ca
Andy Scott, Vice Chair (Liberal)
Scott.A@parl.gc.ca
Michael D. Chong (Conservative)
Chong.M@parl.gc.ca
Dean Del Mastro (Conservative)
DelMastro.D@parl.gc.ca
Ed Fast (Conservative)
Fast.E@parl.gc.ca
Hedy Fry (Liberal)
Fry.H@parl.gc.ca
Luc Malo (Bloc)
Malo.L@parl.gc.ca
Francis Scarpaleggia (Liberal)
Scarpaleggia.F@parl.gc.ca Liberal
Clerk of the Committee:
Catherine Cuerrier
Room 6-37
131 Queen Street
House of Commons
Ottawa, ON K1A 0A6
Canada
Tel: (613) 947-6729
Fax: (613) 996-1962
E-mail: CHPC [at] parl [dot] gc [dot] ca
All of the above can be reached by regular mail, free of charge, at this address:
House of Commons
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0A6
OPPOSITION PARTIES
LIBERAL
Mauril Bélanger, Critic for Canadian Heritage, La Francophonie and Official Languages
Riding: Ottawa–Vanier
Belanger [dot] M [at] parl [dot] gc [dot] ca
Constituency Office:
168 Charlotte St, Suite 504
Ottawa, ON K1N 8K6
(613) 947-7961
www.mauril.ca
NDP
Bill Siksay, NDP Culture Critic
Riding: Burnaby-Douglas
Tel: 613-996-5597
siksab [at] parl [dot] gc [dot] ca
Constituency:
4506 Dawson Street
Burnaby, BC V5C 4C1
Tel: 604-291-8863
Fax: 604-666-0727
CBC
CBC BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Board members are appointed by the Government of Canada and are announced by the Minister of Canadian Heritage.
Mr. Hubert T. Lacroix, President and CEO, CBC
CBC/Radio-Canada
P.O. Box 6000
Montreal QC H3C 3A8
ht [dot] lacroix [at] cbc [dot] ca
Mr. Tim Casgrain, Chair, CBC Board of Directors
P.O. Box 3220, Station C Ottawa, Ontario K1Y 1E4
e-mail c/o kathleen [dot] martin [at] cbc [dot] ca
Phone: (613) 288-6000
Individual members of the Board of Directors may also be contacted through Kathleen Martin at the following address and email. Should you wish to be more direct in your contact, please consult further information below.
P.O. Box 3220, Station C Ottawa, Ontario K1Y 1E4
e-mail c/o kathleen [dot] martin [at] cbc [dot] ca
Here is a list of the CBC Board of Directors and other members of the CBC Board
http://www.cbc.radio-canada.ca/about/directors/
Considering that the Board of Directors of the CBC are bound by the Consolidated By-Laws of the
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation 2002 “to ensure effective relations
with other stakeholders and the public,” we find it unusual that no contact information is available for the public to contact them on the web page listed above.
THEREFORE, we have found our own contact information through our own research. All of the addresses below are available in public.
Rémi Racine
Artificial Mind & Movement
416 Maisonneuve Ouest
Suite 600
Montréal QC H3A 1L2
Peter Herrndorf
National Arts Centre
P.O. Box 1534 Stn. B
Ottawa ON K1P 5W1
pherrndo [at] nac-cna [dot] ca
George Cooper (appointed in May 2008)
McInnes Cooper
1300-1969 Upper Water Street
Purdy’s Wharf Tower II
Halifax NS B3J 2V1
george [dot] cooper [at] mcinnescooper [dot] com
Trina McQueen
CBC MANAGEMENT
The two CBC Executives that came to Vancouver to tell the orchestra it was cut (they would have been the decision makers as well and requested board approval) were Mark Steinmetz and Jennifer McGuire. Ms. McGuire has been replaced by Susan Mitton.
Mark Steinmetz, Head Radio Music
P.O. Box 500, Station ”A”
Toronto, Ont.
M5W 1E6
mark_steinmetz [at] cbc [dot] ca
Phone: (416) 205-3100
Denise Donlon,
Executive Director for English Radio,
CBC Radio 2,
Box 500, Station A,
Toronto M5W 1E6
You can download our complete Letter Writing Toolkit by right-clicking here.
Aussi disponible en français.
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