Thank you.
That segues into the next part of my question, around the need for CBC to act as a private broadcaster, relying on and competing for advertising and subscriptions and whatnot. I think there's a misunderstanding about the funding. Even during a luncheon discussion, I know....
In your brief on page 3 you refer to the funding. In 1985 the Canadian government operating funding was worth $1.3 billion, and today CBC funding is worth $335 million less, so just under $1 billion. As well, 50% of its funding comes from the commercial operations, etc., that we've already talked about. Some of the funding is not permanent, and I guess it makes me wonder.... It's almost like it's doing an incredible job despite the underinvestment that we're seeing or that I'm reading about; it's really shocking.
So I'd like to hear your comments. This morning we heard about the need for CBC to get involved, to spread its activities even thinner, to the Internet and a number of other things. I'm just wondering how much we can squeeze out of our public broadcaster when it's already so underfunded.