OTTAWA — Culture Minister Steven Guilbeault is praising CBC/Radio-Canada’s plans to increase local news coverage as part of its new five-year strategy.

“I think there’s lots of really good elements in this plan. I really like the fact that the public broadcaster wants to invest more in local news across the country,” he told reporters on Parliament Hill Tuesday.

While Guilbeault pointed to the Liberals’ promised funding increase for the CBC, he would not say whether it will be included in the upcoming federal budget.

The Liberals promised an initial $150 million increase in the broadcaster’s annual funding during the spring election campaign. They also said they would make the CBC’s federal funding statutory, which would make it harder for future governments to eliminate it.

Guilbeault

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