Minister of Canadian Heritage James Moore. REUTERS/Blair GableThe Sun News Network strikes again.
In their latest attack against the CBC, the right-leaning media conglomerate is accusing our state broadcaster of paying for and broadcasting soft-core porn.
Sun News is referring to "Hard," a program produced in France and broadcast on Radio Canada's on-demand web portal Tou.tv.
The show, which is featured prominently on Tou.tv's homepage, includes scenes with nudity and explicit sexual activity all the while the CBC logo sits atop the digital player.
Even the pro-CBC New Democrats are shaking their heads at this latest revelation.
"If this is the RDI using French actors through our tax system in order to produce this, I would say it is not a good use of taxpayers' dollars. I think most Canadians and Quebecers would say, 'What the heck is going on here?'" NDP MP Peter Stoffer told Sun News after viewing a sample of the raunchiest scenes.
"To allocate dollars for things of a sexual nature like this would make most Quebecers and most Canadians uncomfortable."
Heritage Minister James Moore, who refused to view scenes from 'Hard,' even conceded that the program might not be appropriate for the public broadcaster's website.
"If that's the case then the CBC could consider other programming for their applications," Moore told Sun News.
"I know you are in the business of going after the CBC, but I can't comment on something that I haven't seen."
For over the past year, the CBC has been the favourite 'punching bag' for the Sun News Network.
The attacks, led by controversial on-air personality Ezra Levant, have been relentless, and at times unfair, focusing on the CBC's $1.1 billion budget and their lack of transparency.
But in this case, the attack may be warranted.
Is it appropriate for a public broadcaster to purchase a foreign program which includes explicit nudity and sex scenes?
In an email to the Sun's Brian Lilley, CBC said that it doesn't consider 'Hard' to be pornographic and refused to disclose how much it paid for the on-line broadcast rights.
UPDATE:
Following the Sun News Story, Thursday, the prime minister's officed released this statement:
"This content is clearly adult in nature and should not be available to children," a PMO spokesman wrote in an e-mail to Sun News.
"While the government doesn't control CBC's content, we are confused by their decision to purchase sexually explicit content and make it available to children. The CBC's mandate is to deliver quality programming to the regions and rural areas, not this material."
Meanwhile, Tou.tv has restricted the times that Canadians will be able to view 'Hard.'
"In line with its policies and programs to ensure that the Hard series is not seen by children, Radio-Canada has decided to restrict the spread between midnight and 4 am (EST) today," reads a post, written in French, on Radio-Canada's Facebook page.
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