Official Languages Committee on Nov. 8th, 2023

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Basically, are there any internal safeguards to prevent this kind of incident from occurring in future?

[Catherine Tait]

Mr. Dubé, would you like to add a comment?

[Marco Dubé, Chief Transformation Officer and Executive Vice-President, People and Culture, CBC/Radio-Canada]

I'm going to answer the question.

Yes, it was absolutely a mistake, an isolated incident. We have rectified the situation, and we're here to acknowledge and accept our responsibility for it.

We have reviewed the team's processes to ensure that the situation won't reoccur.

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

If the processes are—

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Joël Godin]

Mr. Généreux, your question is probably relevant, but your time is up.

We will now turn the floor over to Mr. Serré, of the Liberal Party of Canada.

[Marc Serré, Liberal, Nickel Belt, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Ms. Tait and Mr. Dubé, thank you for being here in committee.

I also want to thank you for clarifying the situation. You reacted directly to the motion; you spoke to the union in Quebec; you apologized; and you said that it was entirely unacceptable. We all agree on that. You said you had taken measures to prevent any reoccurrence of the situation. You clearly responded to the motion that was introduced here in committee.

In a Radio-Canada article published yesterday, concerns were raised about the quality of journalism in Canada. The media around the world are coming under significant pressures.

What could the federal government do to enhance the quality of journalism in our official language minority communities?

I come from northern Ontario, and I'm very proud of the quality that we see at CBC/Radio-Canada. However, what more can we do to improve the quality of journalism here in Canada?

[Catherine Tait]

I could talk to you about that for hours.

I'll begin with our journalistic standards and practices, which are central to everything we do for journalism to ensure a level of quality rarely seen globally. That's the essence of what we do. Ultimately, it's the journalists who do the work. It isn't us, Mr. Dubé and I, who do it; it's the journalists.

If you want to know what you can do to improve and even promote journalism, especially for the official language minority communities in the regions outside Quebec, then provide better funding for your public broadcaster.

We know that, once there's a presence, once we're on the ground, we have an impact. What's important is how close the public broadcaster is to the public. That's how we earn people's trust. It's our presence in the regions that improves matters.

[Marc Serré, Liberal, Nickel Belt, ON]

Thank you, Ms. Tait, for mentioning funding.

As a Franco-Ontarian, I get very concerned when I see the leader of the Conservative Party roaming the country and saying outright that he wants to terminate the CBC's funding. We're also very concerned about Radio-Canada cross the country.

Can you explain to me what the impact will be on Radio-Canada if the Conservative Party comes to power and simply terminates the CBC's funding? Will it be able to offer the same services as those it currently provides in northern Ontario and across the country?

[Catherine Tait]

That's exactly the topic I explored yesterday when I had the pleasure of addressing the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal at the World Without Radio-Canada conference.

Without Radio-Canada and without the CBC, there will be a loss of talent, a loss of culture and a loss of democracy, as well as a decline in the links among communities across the country.

We are a bulwark against disinformation and the polarization of our society. We must protect our public broadcaster, which is invaluable to the Canadian public, both anglophone and francophone.

[Marc Serré, Liberal, Nickel Belt, ON]

How many jobs will be lost and what impact will that have on the network if the CBC's funding is completely cut off? How will Radio-Canada be able to provide services?

[Catherine Tait]

There you're putting your finger on the problem. People think that Radio-Canada is—

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

A point of order, Mr. Chair.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Joël Godin]

Pardon me for interrupting, Ms. Tait.

Go ahead, Mr. Généreux.

[Bernard Généreux, Conservative, Montmagny—L'Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup, QC]

Mr. Chair, earlier our Liberal colleagues chided a Conservative member because her questions were unrelated to the matter before us today.

I don't know why Mr. Serré is referring to our leader and talking about potential cuts. We aren't here today to discuss cuts. We're talking about adapting a podcast. That has nothing to do with cuts.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Joël Godin]

Thank you, Mr. Généreux.

Are there any further comments?

I see that there aren't.

Mr. Serré, I would request that you ask questions that are related to the topic we're discussing today. Thank you for that.

[Marc Serré, Liberal, Nickel Belt, ON]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.

There's an obvious direct link. We've discussed resources and podcasts from across the country. If the CBC's funding is cut, how will it be able to continue providing services in French, through Radio-Canada, in northern Ontario and across the country? How will it manage if there's no more CBC infrastructure?

[Catherine Tait]

The services of the CBC and Radio-Canada are interrelated. Radio-Canada and the CBC share technology and operations. They are housed on the same premises, in the same stations. We work together. We share equipment and sometimes even content, especially in the case of the war in Ukraine and the war in Israel and Gaza.

You're absolutely right: when a cut is made to one side, the other side gets hit hard.

[Marc Serré, Liberal, Nickel Belt, ON]

Will Radio-Canada stop operating if CBC funding is terminated?

[Laila Goodridge, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB]

I have a point of order, Mr. Chair.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Joël Godin]

Mrs. Goodridge, I understand what you probably want to say.

Go ahead, Mrs. Goodridge.

[Laila Goodridge, Conservative, Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Our motion and the subject of today's study concern CBC and Radio-Canada podcasts, not francophones' access to journalism.

I therefore ask that the questions asked by the Liberal Party in particular be on point.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Joël Godin]

Thank you, Mrs. Goodridge.

I think Mrs. Goodridge raised a good point.

We discussed it earlier, in the first hour, and the committee complied. So I'm asking Mr. Serré to comply too. Otherwise I'll be forced to limit his speaking time.

[Marc Serré, Liberal, Nickel Belt, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

If the CBC's funding is cut, how many podcasts could be made in French?

[Catherine Tait]

I can't say.

Our services will decline, of course. We know perfectly well that unprofitable services, for example, if we're in rural markets or in markets where the—

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Joël Godin]

Thank you, Ms. Tait. Mr. Serré's time is up.

Thank you, Mr. Serré.

Mr. Beaulieu, you now have six minutes.