CBC and the Preferential Option for Anne McLellan

UPDATE (8 July, 10:30am):

CBC has removed all references to Anne McLellan in the story.

If you arrived here on the basis of the title to the post regarding Anne McLellan, you might be a little disappointed, but please read on. There has been a twist since I first wrote yesterday. CBC Calgary has completely changed its story (4:04PM 7 July –some 40 minutes after my original post). It entirely removed its exclusive quotes from McLellan, and now presents a more equitable and balanced story, which even includes comments from both ministers involved in the childcare deal, Dryden and Forsyth (See bottom of this comment after you read the post). It’s nice to see that the CBC has a greater capacity for self-correction than the Ethics Commissioner in Ottawa.

Update2: Telus reproduces the news page that the CBC “updated” here.
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A deal on child care between Alberta and Ottawa is expected today. Ken Dryden is the federal Social Development Minister and Heather Forsyth is Alberta’s Minister of Child Services. But who does the CBC quote instead of the two central players? [Update: that was the link to the story that has completely changed, so the McLellan reference is not there anymore (8 July, 10:30am)]. Can you guess which federal minister from Alberta the CBC is promoting?

Not only that, but the hold up in reaching a deal so far (see here) had been the federal reluctance to provide Alberta’s parents with choice. Dryden and the federal government favoured a soviet-style system ran and administered by the state. Forsyth stood for some (though not enough) choice. CBC says nothing about that. Suddenly, after all the hard work and tenacity of Forsyth, CBC peddles Anne McLellan’s newly-found penchant for variety and flexibility.

“What any of us would want to provide is the opportunity for parents to have available to them high quality day care, and that day care can be delivered in different ways,” Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan said.

“We, as the government of Canada, had basic objectives and principles that we wanted to have achieved on a national basis. That’s how the federation works. If we can all sign on to the shared objectives, then acknowledging difference, flexibility, is there for provinces, be it Alberta or other provinces.”

All CBC would have had to do to get a quote from Forsyth today was to look at the Province’s press releases here.

“This agreement gives us maximum flexibility to meet the needs of Alberta’s children,” said Children’s Services Minister Heather Forsyth. “From day one we’ve stayed the course and negotiated a deal that gives parents the choice they need to make the best child care decisions for their children.”

Almost the same thing that the uninvolved Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness said. What a coincidence. CBC Alberta is probably still sore over Forsyth’s attack on the public broadcaster last year, when CBC refused to participate in a provincial program of alerts to save abducted children. CBC will likely acknowledge negligence and shoddy reporting, however, rather than to admit its preferential option for Liberal politicians.

Cross posted from Civitatensis