The Ontario NDP has begun a campaign to save the Ontario Legislative Channel from being bumped off basic Rogers cable service and out of reach of tens of thousands of loyal viewers.

New Democrat MPPs Andrea Horwath (Hamilton East) and Michael Prue (Beaches-East York) say Rogers’ plan to move the televised proceedings of the legislature to Channel 105 by January 31 is bad for democracy.

It will deny an untold number of regular provincial parliamentary watchers access to their taxpayer-funded favourites like Question Period, standing committee meetings and parliamentary debates produced by the Legislative Assembly at considerable expense.

“People with older television sets, who don’t subscribe to Rogers digital service, shouldn’t have to pay extra to receive these public telecasts,” said Horwath. “They shouldn’t have to upgrade. There should be a dedicated channel that’s consistent across the province.”

The New Democrats want all MPPs to join their push and stop Rogers from bumping the channel. They’re calling on taxpayers and customers to complain to Rogers at 1-877-776-7886.

Said Prue: “Not only is this Ontario’s best reality TV show, it’s the public’s open door to the democratic process. We’re concerned that access to the Legislature is being cut off, particularly in an election year. Rogers shouldn’t be allowed to hijack our legislative channel.”

He said it’s ironic that the McGuinty government crows about cameras in the courtroom but has been so far silent about the loss of cameras in the legislative chamber.

The change will affect people everywhere in Ontario except for Ottawa. One of them is Donna Lynn McCallum, of East York, who spoke today as an ardent fan of the legislative channel. To continue receiving the legislative channel, she would have to pay an extra $3.99 a month for Rogers’ digital box plus a $2.99 a month “digital fee” plus tax, an increase to her bill of about 16 per cent.

Horwath calls it ‘digital-highway robbery’. “This is public property. The programming belongs to the people,” she said.

In 2005 Horwath wrote to the CRTC seeking help to ensure that Legislative TV remains accessible to all basic cable subscribers, but the national broadcast regulator responded saying it had no authority to intervene.