it makes me wonder if the operators of this public broadcaster are the ones that actively want it to be eroded and eliminated

IIRC, this is largely the case with the BBC and how it's quality and relevance has diminished over the years: wolves were put in charge of the henhouse.

Eta: my point: it wouldn't be the first time a formerly respected public broadcaster had it's reputation undermined and (eventually) ruined. If we want to keep it, we have to get people out to vote: nothing we can do until the next election, but in the meantime, we can point to it and say "you enjoy the CBC? What about the radio version? D'you like knowing that such-and-such is a scam because of a CBC Marketplace piece?" (IIRC marketplace does those types of pieces)" and relate it to people on a personal level.