Of course, it should be advertising free. Just like public broadcasters in Britain, Australia, New Zealand and anywhere else that values strong, independent broadcasting. The private broadcasters should be supporting this move too, as it will open up $200 million in ad revenue for them to get their greasy little hands on.  The next thing they should be allowed to do is move away from any Canadian content rules, which would enable the CBC to provide us with world class, international programming. And make it all digital, so we wouldn't have to pay the telcos for their exhorbitant cable fees