To that point, Mr. Chair, I was here seven years before I realized there was a chair.
I have three points I'd like to make. First of all, in the context of the CRTC review and your representations to the CRTC, I know that in a submission in 2006 there was a reference to the fact that in terms of investment we had to look at forward-looking investments, rather than panicking with the declining over-the-air numbers and making choices.
I need you to elaborate on that. Where are our priorities here? I think it's critically important to understand the relationship between the traditional world that I engaged television with and the world that my one-year-old son is going to walk into. Where do you fit? You need to elaborate, because a lot of people are scared of that comment, as you can well imagine.
Second, in terms of the mandate itself, I think there's a great deal here that speaks to the regions, that speaks to our diversity, that speaks to language, to the north, and so on. Given all the inputs available, would it be advisable to deal with a chronological piece of the mandate?
In other words, with all the offerings available, the other elements of this mandate to affect the minds of Canadians and to affect the impression of Canadians of their own country and so on are clearly there, but if nobody is accessing it, it's hard to do that. Maybe a mandate has to see you involved in schools, see you involved in a different way, so that people have exposure. I'm only 52; there were only two television stations for most of my formative years, so this piece worked well then. Now it's very different, and maybe there have to be more creative ways to be there for people, to engage them in the public broadcaster and so on. I'd be interested in that.
The other one is there's a large elephant in the room having to do with funding. As a member of previous governments that took decisions that negatively affected the resources available to the CBC, I think we must all try to get past it from a political context so that we can actually do the right thing by the public broadcaster. I appeal to all members to allow that, so that we don't get into silly debate about it. I know it may be self-serving, but there are both sides to all debates. I think it would be a waste of time for us to get too engaged in that. We should simply deal with what it is we wish to see from the CBC and how it may wish to reposition itself in some ways to deal with new realities, and I go back to what I said.
I would also really like you to clarify or elaborate on the earlier representation to the CRTC on where the various media fit.