Perhaps I could speak to that.
My background too is in the theatre and the arts. I have moved over to what they call the dark side now in terms of being a funder and working for a provincial agency; however, in my 30 years in the regions I really relied on the CBC as the kind of foundation that I think Judith referred to.
But more than anecdotally, it is crucial to that synergy and the kind of ecology that you have across the country in terms of nurturing writers, directors, and actors, telling again stories of those regions and sharing them. We've lost a lot of that synergy because of the changes in CBC television, where the focus has become.... Yes, there still are some works done across the country, but the focus remains now on Toronto and to some extent Vancouver, although not even Vancouver has much anymore.
I can only again relate that there was a time in Calgary, as we were growing as a community, when the CBC was absolutely crucial, through its radio drama and then through its television productions based in Edmonton and to some extent in Calgary, to help create an enormous blossoming of the arts, believe it or not, in Alberta. They are blossoming, to a great extent, and they've come a long way in the last 30 years to 40 years. I think the vision now is on how to build on that and not let it go. What is the best of the past in terms of this synergy that exists between a public broadcaster and not-for-profit arts organizations, as well as--and I think we must not forget this--the cultural industries? Much of our cultural industry that has been developed in the regions in film and television has relied upon those who have been trained and brought through a CBC system. The kind of quality work that we now see, which is highly regarded by American film companies, has come about because they were trained in Canada and worked on fine-quality productions in Canada. How do we find that next formula, or the next mix of events and opportunities, so that the CBC can actually be a catalyst, if not a facilitator, if not a leader, in terms of the kind of work we expect?