Shouldn’t this be split proportionately between French and English? That seems more equitable to me.
It depends—in proportion to what, exactly? Some things cost the same amount whether you’re using them 100% of the time or only 10%. Some costs may be shared between the French and English sides. Others scale with the amount of material being produced. Very few scale with the number of listeners, and French Radio-Canada is broadcast in large areas outside of Quebec. Splitting the money into even halves makes for simpler bookkeeping, and simplifying the bookkeeping saves money.
Doesn’t fully capture usage of the service (visitors to Canada are not counted, but citizens who are absent from the country more than half the year may be). Are bilingual individuals counted as belonging to both sides, or do they have to add a rider to the census asking us which language we want to support? If someone, for whatever reason, wants to throw their support behind the language they don’t speak, are they allowed? If not, why not? And what are you going to give Quebec to keep them from throwing a political hissy-fit over getting short-changed?
Dividing the money in half keeps the lid firmly on all those cans of worms.
I get the impression that you’re the kind of person who complains about their tax money going to services they don’t use. By that logic, my taxes shouldn’t go to funding child care or primary-school education, because I don’t, and won’t, have any children. Thing is, both of those are general public goods, and I support them even if they don’t benefit me personally, because having them makes Canada a better place to be. And yes, French-language public radio is also a public good.
It depends—in proportion to what, exactly? Some things cost the same amount whether you’re using them 100% of the time or only 10%. Some costs may be shared between the French and English sides. Others scale with the amount of material being produced. Very few scale with the number of listeners, and French Radio-Canada is broadcast in large areas outside of Quebec. Splitting the money into even halves makes for simpler bookkeeping, and simplifying the bookkeeping saves money.
By census population
Doesn’t fully capture usage of the service (visitors to Canada are not counted, but citizens who are absent from the country more than half the year may be). Are bilingual individuals counted as belonging to both sides, or do they have to add a rider to the census asking us which language we want to support? If someone, for whatever reason, wants to throw their support behind the language they don’t speak, are they allowed? If not, why not? And what are you going to give Quebec to keep them from throwing a political hissy-fit over getting short-changed?
Dividing the money in half keeps the lid firmly on all those cans of worms.
I get the impression that you’re the kind of person who complains about their tax money going to services they don’t use. By that logic, my taxes shouldn’t go to funding child care or primary-school education, because I don’t, and won’t, have any children. Thing is, both of those are general public goods, and I support them even if they don’t benefit me personally, because having them makes Canada a better place to be. And yes, French-language public radio is also a public good.