Evidence of meeting #48 for Canadian Heritage in the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was cbc.
Executive Producer, Les productions Rivard
Yes, because 10% of the francophone envelope represents approximately $8 million per year. That's the equivalent of about $25 million currently earmarked for regions outside Quebec. In 1995, no amount was budgeted for that purpose. Therefore, the government has been very helpful in that regard.
Bloc
Diane Bourgeois Bloc Terrebonne—Blainville, QC
I'm extremely proud to know that television production in Quebec is the envy of people elsewhere.
You stated that it was important for the public broadcaster to make more room for local, regional and national programming.
This week, we received a document from the TD Bank stating that if a nation is to grow, it's important that people be educated, particularly in the areas of arts and culture. Would you care to comment on this, since you reside in an anglophone community?
President and Executive Director, Société franco-manitobaine
Arts and culture are essential. Without them, a people cannot grow. That's pretty obvious. In that respect, the SRC can help because it broadcasts cultural and arts programs and conveys a people's sense of identity.
We're attempting to convey an important message, namely that the SRC, which has a national mandate, must place more emphasis on its national mandate so that Canadians can communicate with and understand one another and share resources, expertise and talents. That has always been our goal.
What the TB Bank was saying is true. We're asking to partner with institutions like the SRC -- and there are many others -- to share our community's wealth with others.
NDP
Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON
Thank you for your presentation.
As a Member of Parliament for a Franco-Ontarian region, I'm quite familiar with the SRC's role in the life and culture of the Franco-Ontarian community, particularly in the are of regional and local radio, which is excellent.
However, there are not enough resources to produce dramas or independent programs in my region. The resources are also lacking to support Franco-Ontarian television programming.
Monsieur Paquin, what steps would we need to take to build regional, independent, francophone productions across this country that can tell the stories of the regions?
Executive Producer, Les productions Rivard
Would you like me to answer you in French, or in English?
Maybe I can deal with this in English.
What's essential is that this is long-term. This is why I feel this committee and the policies of our government are fundamental, because if we depend on champions, it will not last. We have to have a long-term strategy to ensure that the regions can supply the content. By having cut the regions after 1984, we basically reduced it. We had seven directors in Manitoba in 1985; in 1995 we had zero. They had all left the province because there were no more.... Once you lose that capacity you have to rebuild it.
We are starting to rebuild in Manitoba, for example, some of these resources, and it's amazing where they're coming out of. We're doing casting now and people are saying there's not going to be anybody. We have 30, 40 people lined up. People from Montreal or from Alberta, wherever the representatives come from, are amazed with the talent. It's been abandoned for 15 years, but it's coming back.
We need long-term commitments to build the capacity in the regions. This is why, even though we have to stay together with Radio-Canada Montreal--we have to work together--because they do have the expertise to help us rebuild the capacity, there needs to be commitment to doing it in the long term. If it's just dependent on a few champions, the minute they retire you're back at zero, and we're back to re-educating everybody. So there needs to be a decision made that the regions are non-negotiable, that we need to have the capacity in the regions.
In French Canada it's probably a bit more dramatic than in English Canada. I think that in French Canada there's an infrastructure and it's weaker because it requires more strategic alliances. I think Radio-Canada is the best institution to be behind that. So I think we need long-term strategies and commitments.
NDP
Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON
Paul Martin made extensive cuts to CBC in 1996, and we have not recovered. We haven't even come close. We have the Canadian Television Fund, with its 37% for Radio-Canada now, and we have a $60-million top-up, maybe this year or maybe next year. We have two years in now, but it's always year to year. In fact, up to budget day, we have CBC phoning asking if we know whether they'll get their top-up or not. There's that sense of instability. Has this little patchwork of programs gone anywhere to recouping the terrible loss that we saw after those 1996 cuts?
Executive Producer, Les productions Rivard
Yes. When the various parties came together—and I was actually part of the process where Heritage Canada, Telefilm, and all these institutions made the decision that the francophones outside of Quebec were going to be part of their business plans and they established policies that favoured this type of decision--it sent a clear signal to all the broadcasters that there were resources for productions that come from the regions. This has done a lot to set the stage, but I feel that at Radio-Canada.... Even though lately, I must say, in the past couple years, there's been a change and a commitment to what's going on, my concern is that when this phase of people come over, then where are we again? Where are we with the policies? This is why I feel that the decision has to be at this level. Once the money gets down there, people start making decisions about priorities.
This is why I think the regions become negotiable things, and I don't think they should be negotiable. I don't think we should weaken Montreal to support the regions, but I think that the regions should not be negotiable. If you're mandated to have content coming from the regions, and not just news, then it will have to be that people have documentaries and other kinds of content. Once that's established, then the signal to Radio-Canada will be that they have to work up a business strategy to make sure that what they're getting from Vancouver or Winnipeg is quality stuff that could be broadcast on the national broadcaster. So we have to work on a long-term strategy.
NDP
Charlie Angus NDP Timmins—James Bay, ON
We have the same problem when we're trying to have our voice in the north heard. We only ever get on the news nationally if a moose walks down the main street, and then it's a funny little side story and there's our town. Then we're not on for anything else that we do, ever.
You talk about it being non-negotiable. But how do we set it in stone, into policy, to ensure? Are you talking about a specific money envelope? Are there other steps that we could take to ensure that our regional voices, that we're grassroots, will be strong?
Executive Producer, Les productions Rivard
The big scary words are “quotas” and “percentages”. I think that has to be when you're talking about the contribution agreement. This is why I'm saying I'm not necessarily for quotas and I'm not for telling them how to do their job, but I think there have to be expectations that the regions will be supplying content in all their genres, for local, regional, and national broadcasts, and that they have to have a discussion about how much money it's going to cost to do that.
In the past 25 years there has been a big change in the picture. There are federal tax credits, provincial tax credits, the Canadian Television Fund, and provincial agencies. Therefore, it seems to trigger all these projects.
Right now, there's always this debate that here's money set aside for the regions, and if it's not set aside, then we're going into the Montreal budget. That debate skews everything. At the end of the day, you're going to get to a budget; you're going to get to some kind of quota. But there has to be a serious dialogue about this subject.
I know the debate is always about them wanting the least amount of commitment in that contribution agreement and you wanting more, but I think the regions have to be discussed. You have to sit there with Rabinovitch and the people who figure it out: How do we ensure the regions are in this? This means the television fund and everybody else could be part of the discussions, because they are willing to do this.
Conservative
Ed Fast Conservative Abbotsford, BC
Thank you to both of you for appearing here today.
My focus is going to go back to CTF funding. As you know, our government has announced that we're committed to a two-year funding program, not only for the CBC—I think that funding announcement was $60 million—but we've also committed to a two-year program for the CTF. I think that indicates there is a commitment to the CBC and to the Canadian production industry.
As perhaps a question first, do you have any idea what portion of CTF funding is actually dedicated towards productions geared to the francophone community outside of Quebec?
Executive Producer, Les productions Rivard
In the overall envelope, it's two-thirds English, one-third French. The French envelope is about $80 million. We get about 10% of that, $8 million of that. Of the $200 million, $8 million goes for francophones outside of Quebec. It's a bit higher than that. When we negotiated the amount, the people from Quebec wanted zero for outside of Quebec, so we had to make a deal there. But we're 15% of the population of French Canada, so we wanted 15%. We agreed on 10%, but we have access to the broadcaster envelopes as well. Our tradition in the past three years has been close to 12% or 13% of the francophone envelope. That's about what we've had, so maybe $9 million to $10 million.
Conservative
Ed Fast Conservative Abbotsford, BC
All right.
Earlier, Mr. Simard had a discussion with Mr. Boucher regarding the possibility of separating francophone productions outside of Quebec from those within Quebec—I may have misunderstood, but I think that's what he was implying—and perhaps by extension, even, the funding mechanisms would be completely separate.
Mr. Boucher, your response was no, we believe—
Conservative
Ed Fast Conservative Abbotsford, BC
Oh, Mr. Paquin, it was your response, that there needs to be more collaboration and working together with Quebec, as opposed to separating ourselves from that industry. Could you elaborate a little further on that?
Executive Producer, Les productions Rivard
Quebec is a worldwide success story in terms of its content. Six million people--they're at Cannes; they're all over the world. In Las Vegas, there's Cirque du Soleil and there's Céline Dion. They're a huge success, and I think we want that expertise. But we also want to exchange with Quebec, so I don't think separating us would contribute to that.
In my experience, when people start to know the regions—and lately it has been happening more because there's a leadership that is committed to integrating the regions—when that happens, there's room for cooperation, and I think it will support our industry in the regions to be working in cooperation. My concern is that if there's not a clear direction from the government about the regions, that they are non-negotiable in the process of what's happening, if that doesn't happen, then we become negotiable.
Conservative
Ed Fast Conservative Abbotsford, BC
So you're not suggesting a silo approach to dealing with productions.
Executive Producer, Les productions Rivard
No. We have to win that battle to work together. That's my feeling.
Conservative
Ed Fast Conservative Abbotsford, BC
I'd like to go back to the history of the funding cutbacks to which Mr. Angus just alluded. Were either one of you or your organizations involved in negotiating these cutbacks, or did they come down unilaterally?
Executive Producer, Les productions Rivard
Do you mean in the community, or what is just happening?
