Omni works for all the main broadcasters, and we also treasure our relationship with CBC. We believe that as a broadcaster, through its mandate, it should carve out its own unique identity and niche. That's a challenge, and it's certainly part of what it's looking to this committee for in terms of guidance. It should trigger the production of programming that is unique and that would not otherwise be made. I have a couple of examples.
We produced a series that aired in January called Dragon Boys. It was a four-hour miniseries set in Richmond, starring an Asian-Canadian cop who was fighting crime that was both coming from within his community and related to Hong Kong triads. It's a story we would not see on CTV. It's a story that is uniquely Canadian, and it's both ripped from the headlines and relevant. That's the kind of programming we believe CBC should continue to do, and to do more of.
Another example is a series we did called Make Some Noise. Make Some Noise is a half-hour music activism series showcasing Canadian youths who are making a real difference in all sorts of causes around the world, from environmentalism to child prostitution. This series was recently awarded the Japan Prize, in recognition of its excellence on a world scale, and it's now being presented in Johannesburg at the World Summit on Media for Children and Youth. Again, this is a program that speaks to Canadian values and makes us all proud of our new generation. Without the CBC it would not exist.
We believe the CBC should strengthen its relationship with the independent production sector. That involves the CBC leading in how it deals with each producer. It should lead by example. The private broadcasters are asking for more and more rights, and the new media issues are coming up. Those are also clearly concerns for CBC, but CBC should establish terms of trade that govern its relationships with producers. Many producers are a lot smaller than Omni. They don't have the negotiating experience, and they need to be assured that the public broadcaster will treat them fairly and not strip away all their rights and make it next to impossible to do the next project. Every independent producer wants this project to go so much that they may well mortgage everything on the current project to make it happen.
Trish, you had some comments to make about different genres of programming that are particularly important for the CBC to pay attention to.