Thank you very much, Mr. Chair,
Thank you all for coming today as witnesses. You know, this is a little different, having government so involved in making decisions that will affect whether or not industries thrive or individual artists thrive.
There are many industries in this country where it doesn't happen as much. In fact, we're a government far less involved as an arbiter in that way, and in the way the CRTC plays a role, and in the way that Parliament making legislation will play a role in your case. We have to ask ourselves, I guess, in view of the fact that we are involved in this, how do we ensure—and what is the role of government in ensuring—that small radio stations of that industry and all artists thrive?
Do we have to really worry about every single one of them? I don't think any of you would ask that the government ensure that every single station or business of any size makes a profit. In a lot of ways, we don't control the various factors in terms of productivity, and their business models, or that every artist will prosper, because not every artist will survive. I suppose if I were singing, people would say that I shouldn't be doing that, and shouldn't be making a living at it, for example. I'm sure many of my sisters would argue that.
The question is, how do we do that? How do we ensure that both artists and small radio stations, for instance, survive?
Mr. Skolnik.