TORONTO – Continuing the promise of its five-year strategic plan, CBC said Monday that it will introduce new radio and Internet services for the London and Kitchener-Waterloo areas of Ontario starting next fall.
"We know that our new services in London and Kitchener-Waterloo and enhancements to weekend news in Edmonton, Ottawa, the Maritimes and St. John’s are going to add to an already strong news offering in each of those places," said Jennifer McGuire, general manager and editor in chief of CBC News, with responsibility for CBC centres across the country. "This expansion will help to build upon our reputation as one of the country’s leading news organizations, where Canadians can turn to any platform they choose to find the news and information that’s relevant to them."
In the announcement, CBC said that more than 7 million Canadians live in large population centres that are either unserved or underserved by the public broadcaster. Its new strategic plan ‘Everyone, Every Way’ is aimed at reaching approximately 6 million Canadians with new or expanded local services over the next four years. The ‘Corp has already announced weekend news in Toronto and Calgary plus unveiled plans for new services in Kelowna, Kamloops and Victoria. Other announcements have included Edmonton, Halifax, St. John’s, and Ottawa.
"I’m very happy to see the momentum continuing for our Everyone, Every way strategy," said CBC/Radio-Canada president and CEO Hubert T. Lacroix. "Announcing new local services confirms that we are committed to delivering on our promise of a stronger relationship with Canadians. With new delivery models, CBC/Radio-Canada continues to evolve into a modern and agile public broadcaster."
