I'd like to take this opportunity to express our delight to be presenting to you this afternoon. My name is Pam Astbury. I am a civil engineer and president of Save Our CBC Kamloops. With me is David Charbonneau, a retired electronics instructor from Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops and our group's secretary-treasurer.
Our reason for attending this mandate review today is to share with the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage our extreme disappointment at having lost our over-the-air CBC television service, and also to provide for you a citizens' vision for the CBC in the 21st century. We are a non-partisan group, and we are also not-for-profit. The presentation today has been compiled by dedicated Kamloops volunteers who have been directly affected by recent changes to CBC television service.
In February 2006, as Canadians recovered from the excitement of the Torino Olympics, Kamloops transmitters stopped broadcasting the CBC television service over the air. The day after the Olympic flame was extinguished, so was our access to CBC television. It was a surreal experience to realize that something we had all taken for granted--free access to CBC television--was no longer available. Letters to the editor of our local paper appeared, as residents expressed their dismay that despite paying their portion of taxes slated for the CBC--approximately $33 each per year--they would be forced to pay upwards of $360 annually to be able to watch it on cable, that is if cable was even available.
A group of citizens from Save Our CBC Kamloops formed in an effort to understand how we'd come to lose the CBC, determine the scope of the problem nationally, and identify what it would take to get it back. Historically, as we understand it, our local broadcaster, CFJC, had carried approximately nine hours of CBC on its daily schedule. In a decision based on finances, CFJC applied to the CRTC to drop the more expensive CBC content for less expensive CH/Global content.
Our group first approached CBC CEO, Robert Rabinovitch, to reinstate the lost signal to our city. In response, his office explained that analog technology was being systematically phased out right across Canada. Only those in 44 of the largest urban centres would be able to access free over-the-air CBC television in digital form. The letter supporting that statement is attached to your handout.
By 2012, all Canadians will be forced onto cable or satellite as a means to access their public broadcaster, unless they live in a big city. For Canada, not having equal access to the CBC, whether on radio or television, presents a number of concerns. Urban areas already enjoy an abundance of television channels--in many cases upwards of 10--over the air. However, small areas may have only one. To lose CBC television in these communities is to leave them with little to draw upon for Canadian perspectives. Each of us contributes to the finances of the CBC via our tax dollars. To obligate residents of Canada's small and medium-sized communities to buy cable or satellite in order to access the public broadcaster is shameful. Undoubtedly, these are the very communities that are the largest supporters of the CBC.
Let us not forget that cablevision is not a privilege that all Canadians can afford. Seniors on fixed incomes often rely on over-the-air television and radio for their information and companionship, especially those who may be housebound. Teachers who have used CBC programs such as Canada: A People's History and The Greatest Canadian as home-teaching resources can no longer ensure that all students have access to them. We also must consider the single-income families who may rely on Hockey Night in Canada or the Rick Mercer Report, for example, to share quality nights together. This is the reality for many struggling to make ends meet.
Over the past seven months, our group has reached thousands of Kamloops residents. We have circulated a city-wide petition on which we have collected more than 2,000 signatures and on which we are still collecting. It is our plan to have this document presented to the House shortly after March 31. We've asked hundreds of people two questions: “Why is the CBC important to you?” and “Should all Canadians have equal access to it?” The following are selected responses from Kamloops residents.
Ginny Ratsoy says: “Even more important than individual programs is the collective that is the CBC. It has historically been about showcasing Canada to Canadians. Particularly in this global and technological age, this emblem of our nation is vital. CBC television has historically been available to all Canadians, and to make it available only to those who can afford cablevision is unconscionable.”
Lori Schill says: “I have lived in many parts of this country and having the C.B.C. to listen to has always made me feel at home.”
Anne-Marie Hunter says: “The CBC provides down-to-earth, out of the ordinary drama that was not dependent on stereotypes but rather, worked outside society's common views of life.”
Bronwen Scott says: “The CBC is literally the only show in town in isolated areas of the province and country. It helps us to maintain a Canadian identity in the face of a flood of US programming.”
Connie Alger says: “It's the Children's programming that we miss the most at our house. We choose not to have cable for lifestyle and economic reasons...lifestyle being that we want a small amount of quality programming available to our children, not a 24 hr supply of endless distraction. KidsCBC was just right for us, a few really good shows that my children could choose for entertainment, and education.”
Jim Fornelli says: “The CBC's reporters and interviewers are of the highest quality and bring credibility and integrity to the broadcasting profession. The international flavour of reporting of world events whether athletic, political, economic or social broadens the boundaries of Canadian audiences to include the world stage not just the protective North American world-view.”
The remedy to this cultural crisis may be technology itself. As you might know, the U.S. will have completed its national conversions from analog transmitters to digital three years ahead of Canada, by 2009. A solution to keep as many as possible connected to broadcasting is an $80 set-top box that over-the-air viewers can redeem for free using federally funded rebates. The U.S. is touting the system as the biggest revolution for over-the-air television in 50 years. Wireless TV is seen as a hip and practical new face for television.
In Canada, it would mean replacing all analog transmitters with digital, instead of just the urban ones, as the CBC is currently proposing. The model would allow Canadians to continue to stay connected to their beloved CBC without the cost and negative impact of full-fledged cable connection.
In looking to the 21st century, our group considers the CBC has a strong future in this age of media infestation. As a selection of the CBC's national audience, our vision for the CBC is quite simple: access to CBC radio and television for all Canadian communities, large and small, continued high-quality and intellectual Canadian content, and increased and reliable federal funds to ensure that our national treasure is strong and vibrant in the 21st century.
In closing, I would like to thank all the members of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage for acknowledging that there are serious problems festering within the CBC. There is a strong sense that television and radio, still a mainstay in our media world, is increasingly becoming an offensive intruder in our homes. In the 21st century, the CBC must strive to exceed this norm and continue to provide the exceptional intellectual television and radio services it is known for. Undoubtedly, a reliable financial commitment from the federal government is badly needed to ensure that infrastructure is in place to deliver CBC to all our communities. The high-quality programming that is synonymous with the CBC cannot be appreciated if the people for whom it is intended can no longer access it.
From the city of Kamloops, B.C., we look to this committee to provide guidance to get CBC television back on the air in our community and keep it on the air for all small and medium centres from coast to coast to coast.