Perhaps I could go back to our small metaphor around the arts organizations...or the similarity in terms of how we fund various arts organizations. It's interesting, because all the same realities apply. In the different disciplines we've actually taken a look at our level of subsidy based on that organization's ability to generate revenue, which is exactly what you're talking about. Dance is different from theatre, and contemporary dance is different from ballet, and ballet is different from a gallery, which sometimes doesn't charge entrance fees at all but is open to the public.
What our council has done, and what I think other arts councils across the country have had to do, is assess in some way the public value of what these different organizations are prepared to create. How much do we value that? How much do we value sharing our stories through the CBC? If we value them extraordinarily, then we will subsidize those areas more highly than others.
You're quite right, in some cases we don't subsidize commercial theatre at all. They're out on their own. But again, there's a synergy here; you can't get away from the fact that the industry crosses over all the time. People work in all of these different areas. They may work for a private for a couple of months doing a major production, but then, as an actor or as a designer or whatever, they will go and work on a CBC show, having made enough money on the private, hopefully, that they will be able to work at different rates for the CBC, which may not be that high or may be higher. That kind of analysis is interesting to do in terms of the way our world works today.
As for Canadian content rules, there's no question they've worked in terms of music and radio broadcasting. Is it time to have a look at that? If the focus truly of CBC is on Canadian content, and significant Canadian content, then why not suggest that others are free to do as they will? That's essentially what we do with commercial operations. They come to us many times, and we tell them they're indirectly subsidized in all kinds of different ways.