We rarely agree. That’s the point.

But here's one thing we do agree on: The Intersection Panel on Canada Tonight – hosted by Travis Dhanraj – was one of the best things CBC had done in years. It was one of the only places where we could freely discuss our differing opinions on issues that mattered to Canadians. And it is a deeply short-sighted mistake for CBC to have pulled the plug on it.

We were guests on the program. We came from different parties and different perspectives, but we sat together and talked like Canadians do when the cameras are off. Thoughtfully. Respectfully. Sometimes passionately. And, most importantly, with a willingness to listen.

It wasn’t a made-for-Twitter fight club. The Intersection Panel was a space where a teacher in Scarborough, a rancher in Alberta, and a student in Halifax could hear a range of ideas discussed intelligently and in good faith. That kind of programming is informative, but more importantly, it builds trust. It reminds us that disagreement doesn’t have to mean division. And it showed Canadians that partisanship doesn’t have to be toxic.

You wouldn’t have heard it on the Ottawa bubble roundtables. And that's what made it matter.

Sometimes we debated policies like carbon pricing, bail reform, or housing. Other times we talked about culture, identity, and the quiet tensions that shape Canadian life in ways polling can’t measure. On some nights, we even laughed. Imagine that.

In many ways, The Intersection Panel resembled the roundtables you see on the BBC or Quebec’s Tout le monde en parle: politically diverse voices having real conversations, not just spinning talking points. It was public broadcasting at its best – bridging communities rather than entrenching ideological camps.

But then, voices from across the political spectrum started to disappear. Dhanraj recently claimed they were silenced. Other CBC show hosts seemed free to welcome a cross-section of guests and commentators, but Canada Tonight no longer could. That begs explanation. 

Ultimately, CBC appears to have cancelled The Intersection Panel. Cancelling a segment like this sends a message. And it's the wrong one.

Because right now, the forces pulling Canadians apart are strong. We are not immune to the polarization ripping through democracies around the world. When our public broadcaster chooses editorial homogeneity over ideological diversity, it weakens its own credibility, and it weakens our democracy.

We need to be building a media ecosystem in Canada that is trusted and reflects the full spectrum of views in this country, not just the ones that align with head office.

Travis Dhanraj built something unique. The panels he hosted were gender-balanced, racially diverse, and politically unpredictable. They didn’t check boxes, they inspired dialogue. The CBC should be holding that up as a model, not burying it quietly.

We need more of this, not less.

The CBC is paid for by all Canadians. That means it has a duty to all Canadians. A duty to challenge. A duty to reflect. A duty to respect different points of view, not punish them.

It's what journalism should look like in a country as big, complicated, and quietly passionate as ours.

We may not agree on much. But we agree on this: CBC made a mistake by stymying and then cancelling what Travis Dhanraj was building with his show.

Signed,

 

The Honourable Sheila Copps

Senator Charles Adler

Susan Gapka

Kyle Jacobs

Stephen Ledrew

Bryan Leblanc

Julia Malott 

Roland S. Martin 

Christine Van Geyn 

Kari Vierimaa

Alex Pierson

Karman Wong