Hockey Night in TROC - a rant

I don't care for the 3pm start for my Sens on HNIC but I'm not going to complain too much:
ATL vs OTT [National] 3 pm
EDM vs TOR [National] HD 7 pm
CAR vs MON [Que] 7 pm
COL vs CAL [National] 10 pm

Doesn't it seem ridiculous that they call the 7pm EDM/TOR game a 'National' broadcast but don't show it in Quebec. Also, I don't understand why the french CBC, Radio-Canada, doesn't broadcast any hockey games.

If the CBC/Radio-Canada wants to talk about it's mandate/funding then maybe they should consider that one of the things this 'national institution' should do is actually use hockey as a bridge between Quebec and the rest of Canada as opposed to creating another wall.

Heck, let's quote from the CBC/Radio-Canada mandate:

vi: contribute to shared national consciousness and identity,

I think that they are doing the exact opposite. Radio-Canada moves away from hockey at the same time CBC is increasing it's coverage.

According to the wiki article on HNIC:

Beginning with the 2002-03 season, RDS secured exclusive French language rights to the NHL. The deal, negotiated with the Canadiens and not with the league itself, was meant to ensure a consistent home for all Canadiens games. Radio-Canada did not bid for these rights, saying that, as a general-interest network, it could not give up so much airtime to hockey.
....
Radio-Canada soon reached an agreement to produce the Saturday night games, to remain branded La Soirée du Hockey, to be simulcast on both SRC and RDS.
However, for reasons that are unclear, that agreement was terminated after the 2004 playoffs. [9] Nonetheless, the RDS-produced replacement, Le Hockey du samedi soir, was simulcast on Radio-Canada outside Quebec, where RDS has limited distribution, through the end of the 2005-2006 season. Radio-Canada no longer simulcasts RDS broadcasts as of 2006-2007.

Bolding mine. So, Radio-Canada says it can't give up so much airtime to hockey while CBC fills most Saturdays with it and even is showing jersey retiring ceremonies.

And yet somepeople wonder why others question the wisdom of putting $1 billion into the CBC every year.

If the CBC can't explain why it's important to bid on the english TV rights and not the french rights then I think we should move on to discuss how much CTV should pay Ron MacLean and how much for the HNIC theme song.