After waiting months for the Conservative government to launch a review of the CBC, the House of Commons heritage committee has decided to start without it, passing a motion on Monday to look closely at the public broadcaster.

The motion to initiate the review was put forward by NDP heritage critic Charlie Angus, who first called for a review of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in the spring. 

Heritage Minister Bev Oda launched a review of the merging roles of television, radio and the internet this past summer.
(Fred Chartrand/Canadian Press)

He has also demanded that Ottawa commit to "stable and improved funding" and a "clear mandate" for the public broadcaster.

The standing committee on Canadian heritage had been expecting Heritage Minister Bev Oda to launch a review of the CBC and its role as a public broadcaster all year.

Instead, Oda asked the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission in June to look at new broadcasting technologies and how they'll affect all broadcasting policies.

Speaking to the House of Commons, Oda committed to looking at the CBC but said an overall look all broadcast platforms was a priority.

Angus told the Globe and Mail the heritage committee is tired of waiting for the government to act.

"There's been rising frustration at the committee. Basically, nothing's been done at this committee throughout this session," he said.

The committee met in September with CBC executives, who have also been calling for a review of their mandate.

Among the issues expected to be dealt with are questions of the overall mandate of the broadcaster and the amount and kind of Canadian content it should produce.

Richard Stursberg, CBC executive vice-president of English television, said in an October speech that government support on a per-capita basis for the CBC is one-third of what the BBC gets from the British government. He said taxpayer dollars account for just 45 per cent of English-language television's total revenue.

The review is scheduled to begin in February, committee spokesman Jacques Lahaie told CBC Arts Online. After hearings with witnesses, the committee will prepare a report to be tabled in the House. Oda will then have 125 days to respond to any recommendations made in the report, says Lahaie.

The advocacy group Friends of Canadian Broadcasting welcomed the announcement of the review and called for Prime Minister Stephen Harper to participate and explain his stance on the public broadcaster.

"Stephen Harper's agenda for CBC remains hidden. We hope the heritage committee calls the prime minister as its first witness to explain his position on the future of CBC," spokesman Ian Morrison said in a statement.