The future of the CBC debated

Kudos to the folks at Newslab.ca for posting a link to the following clip.

Featured is Peter Mansbridge, anchor of CBC's The National, who hosts a panel discussion regarding the future of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, its programming and most controversially, its funding:

Since the airing of this video, the Corporation has announced that it will cut 800 jobs in an effort to save $171-million, dealing yet another blow to our woefully underfunded public broadcaster. Earlier this month, it was announced that executive salaries would be frozen and that assets would be sold in an effort to generate short-term funding.

Do you think that Chantal Hébert has a point when she states that the CBC is integral to Canadian nation building and provides a rare link for English-speaking communities across Canada?

Can the CBC continue to contribute to shared national consciousness and identity if Canadians are forced to pay - as Maclean's National Editor Andrew Coyne suggests - to access this public service? Do those who cannot afford access not deserve to participate in the national discourse? Would it be in the public interest to limit access to the CBC?

After all, Canada's Broadcasting Act (1991) explicitly states that "the Canadian broadcasting system shall be effectively owned and controlled by Canadians".

I hope it won't be taken as hyperbolic when I ask the following question:

If we - as Canadian citizens - own the airwaves as well as the broadcaster, then how can it be argued that Canadian citizens should pay to access what in essence should be as free as access to public parks or primary and secondary education?