Canadian Heritage Committee on April 19th, 2007

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

So you're suggesting there's still a role for public money to be given to private broadcasters to ensure there is ongoing Canadian content?

[Pierre Bourbeau]

Yes, with the tools that we currently have, such as the Canadian Television Fund. I think that it is a good thing that commercial television can dip into those funds to produce Canadian content.

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

I have just one other question. You mentioned, and I think I'm quoting you correctly, that “SRC should not be Radio-Montreal”. That's something we've heard not only in Yellowknife and Vancouver, but also in Winnipeg—that people in la francophonie around Canada are saying they don't want to simply see the face of Quebec; they want to see their faces as francophones in the rest of the country. Do you have any suggestions on how to better achieve that, aside from the additional funding we've just talked about?

[Pierre Bourbeau]

Over the last 10 years, we believe that Franco-Canadian producers, directors and actors have been working in a area that has undergone a rather interesting professional development. And yet, these people are unknown. For a variety of reasons—reasons which would constitute a different submission on the subject—the entire pool of professionals is not at all well-known like people working at Radio-Canada in Montreal. Knowing what we know about the artistic and cultural environment, networks have to be formed. People working at Radio-Canada in Montreal often come from the very city. When seeking people, the first reaction is to go and get these resources, these people in a pool we know.

Indeed, we must work with Radio-Canada to become more familiarized with the existing resources across the country. That is why shows such as Tout le monde en parle and Bons baisers de France are clear examples of why there is absolutely no reason why Canadian francophones should not be represented. It is very good to be regionally present; however, Radio-Canada has the important responsibility of showcasing multicultural and diversified examples of Canadian francophone culture at the national level. We have to move in this direction. Often, it is by becoming familiar with the resources that exist that we can succeed. The Franco-Canadian community can work in collaboration with Radio-Canada to get there. However, Radio-Canada given its existing national infrastructure, can certainly make sure that there is better collaboration between Radio-Canada in Montreal and its regional television stations.

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Schellenberger]

Thank you.

I'm allowing Ms. Keeper to have a very short question and a very short answer, because I have two minutes.

[Tina Keeper, Liberal, Churchill, MB]

Thank you.

You mentioned Mr. Paquin. I heard his presentation and I know his work. He had talked about the increased funding through the CTF being critical to ensuring that a regional voice and those types of programming could be created. That's part of what the Broadcasting Act stipulates—that we should encourage a pool of professionals.

Can you talk about the types of partnerships that you see maybe your organization and the CBC would be able to work with? Are there partnerships within the francophone community that CBC should be participating in to fulfill its mandate?

[Pierre Bourbeau]

Currently, there is an agreement to develop Franco-Canadian arts and culture. This agreement was entered into by seven cultural and artistic agencies, the federal government, and the French-Canadian Cultural Federation. Originally, the agreement sought to garner the commitment of not only Heritage Canada, but other agencies in order to develop francophone and Acadian communities. Because SRC/CBC is a signatory of this agreement, there are what we call bilateral relations between SRC and the FCCF, the French-Canadian Cultural Federation. As it stands, we meet once a year, and we want our meetings to become more frequent, a suggestion that has been accepted, so that we can further talk about ways to meet this goal and to raise the profile of the Canadian francophonie on national airwaves, and elsewhere.

I would also tell you that there is a good level of awareness and openness. Unfortunately, we are dealing with yet again, a major hurdle concerning audience ratings. Because of this problem, there is the perception that we must present Quebeckers and Montrealers with a content that is of interest to them. Often, there is fear that if we turn to what's going on elsewhere, our audience ratings will drop. Indeed, as I was saying earlier, the people who work at Radio-Canada in Montreal are from Montreal. But within the senior management of Radio-Canada, we see more and more key players from the Canadian francophonie. We are beginning to take note of the direct effect of this. I can also tell you that Radio-Canada's strategy to integrate radio, television and the Internet had also very beneficial effects which could have a positive impact on Canadian francophonie.

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Schellenberger]

Thank you for that.

I think our time is up. I thank you for your presentation this morning and for your answers to the various questions.

The meeting is adjourned.