As I see it, SRC officials see the debate between private and public television as a double-edged sword. People inside the organization very much appreciate the fact that everything doesn't hinge on audience shares and advertising sales. However, they worry that if audience shares and commercial success is suddenly set aside one day, the public might wonder why billions are being invested if no one is watching SRC programming.
I can appreciate the formidable challenges that they are facing. The SRC has a national mandate and receives government support. I'm concerned on two levels. I believe this committee is very important in that it provides directives and a mandate to the SRC. SRC program content must be a reflection of the entire country. The regions must be supported to this end. Otherwise, the whole situation is like a double-edged sword for us.
SRC officials can save money by centralizing operations in Montreal. Fifteen or so years ago, the SRC took a step back and communities lost their production capability.For the past five or six years, I've been hearing that the regions are not able to provide network content because they lack the proper infrastructures. The fact is that these infrastructures were taken away from us.
The SRC needs to be given a clear mandate to ensure programming content originating in the regions. That must come from us, in order to put an end to internal bickering over operations in Montreal and regional operations. The SRC must devise some strategies so that within the next twenty years, the regions produce programming content. In order to achieve this end, the corporation must cooperate with independent producers.
As I mentioned, the Canadian Television Fund and all other financial institutions modified their rules to ensure that a program originating in Saskatchewan, Alberta or Manitoba receive the same funding as a venture originating in Montreal, whether or not it is broadcast locally or on the full network.