If it's 48 hours.
Evidence of meeting #37 for Canadian Heritage in the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was crtc.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Evidence of meeting #37 for Canadian Heritage in the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was crtc.
A recording is available from Parliament.
10:45 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Gary Schellenberger
If we get something by tomorrow, then it can be on Tuesday's agenda.
10:45 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Gary Schellenberger
Okay? Okay.
On the last order of business that we have here today, I think everyone on this committee received a request by a Mr. Keith Mahar to come before this committee to talk on the CTF. He lives in Australia.
We don't have any more time to do any more deliberation on our panels. All our witnesses have been here. Our experts are coming up with a report on the CTF. So I said, on my own, that we didn't have room there. What I would like is confirmation from people, or to put it to the committee, that we don't have any more room.
I don't want to be an arbitrator, but....
Yes, Mr. Angus.
10:45 a.m.
NDP
Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I've had a number of people phone me, write me, want to make depositions on the CTF. There was an emergency situation. We asked for four days of hearings. We do have the major CBC mandate review to undertake.
I feel that we've done our job as a committee. We've raised the issues. I know certain groups who felt left out had very legitimate stakes to bring forward, and some of their issues weren't brought forward in testimony. But they can bring forward written documentation that we should look at.
I don't really know if we're in a position to continue to entertain requests. However, I'm more than willing for us as a committee to continue to look at written depositions brought forward by various viewpoints on this.
10:45 a.m.
Conservative
Ed Fast Conservative Abbotsford, BC
Mr. Chair, could I suggest that this individual actually provide a copy of his submission to Mr. von Finckenstein so that it can be part of the task force report? Obviously, this is an ongoing issue that we will be dealing with again in the future.
10:45 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Gary Schellenberger
We can make sure that the clerk would forward this on to the CRTC, because we do have that.
Yes, Ms. Fry.
10:45 a.m.
Liberal
Hedy Fry Liberal Vancouver Centre, BC
Mr. Chair, I'm sorry, I'm lost here. Who is this man? I know nothing about him and I haven't seen the letter. I would just like to know who he is. What if he is the head of the equivalent of the CRTC in Australia?
10:45 a.m.
Liberal
Hedy Fry Liberal Vancouver Centre, BC
Maybe we want to hear from him. I would like to know who he is, though, please, if you don't mind.
10:45 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Gary Schellenberger
It's not who we should hear from, it's whether we have any more time to hear from people. We've set our agenda for the CBC mandate review. That was set. It has been changed because of the crisis that we had with the CTF and the funding. We have initiated that. We have a report. We've set those things aside. We've moved the CBC mandate backwards.
This only came to me.... It's dated February 14. Today, our meetings of witnesses are over. As Mr. Angus has said, there are many people who would like to speak. I'll go back to some of the things that were said here today by the CRTC. We're talking about a small piece here in this particular thing. If you haven't one of these, I can make sure you get one, but we have many people who would like to speak on these things.
Again, I have made that ruling. All I would like is the support of the committee. If you would vote that our hearings of witnesses are over and we bring in a report at the next meeting....
Yes.
10:50 a.m.
Liberal
Hedy Fry Liberal Vancouver Centre, BC
On a point of information, Mr. Chair, pursuant to the CRTC's report to us today and the fact that I know some of us around the table would have liked to ask a couple of further pertinent questions, all of us who read the CRTC's report saw that they said.... I heard, when I asked a question here, that the chair said to me that the task force will do public hearings. But when I read the report it said that the commission will make a decision about whether or not to issue a public notice and to hold public hearings.
That is unacceptable for me. While the minister cannot make the CRTC do things, I would like us to decide. I think the commission should not, in the name of accountability, make the decision about whether these hearings will be public.
This is an interesting issue, a serious issue. We are taking for granted that the hearings will do what we want them to do, that they will solve the problems we want them to solve, but when it's not public and we don't even know if the report will be made public, I think we have to ask some more questions--
10:50 a.m.
Liberal
Hedy Fry Liberal Vancouver Centre, BC
They said they'll make a decision about whether or not, and in the press release it says the same thing.
There is a decision—
10:50 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Gary Schellenberger
No, I'm going to interrupt here. I distinctly heard this morning that the report of the task force would be made public.
10:50 a.m.
Liberal
Hedy Fry Liberal Vancouver Centre, BC
Well, then, I'd like a clarification, because I heard that too, but it belies what I see written here.
10:50 a.m.
Liberal
Hedy Fry Liberal Vancouver Centre, BC
Will we, as a committee, hold him to what he said to this committee as opposed to what he wrote?
10:50 a.m.
Liberal
10:50 a.m.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Gary Schellenberger
I will.
That's what he said this morning and that's what it will be.