This year, the 938 staff at L'Institut National de l'Audiovisuel will spend the Canadian equivalent of $170 million, 100% of which is provided by the national government, on the collection and preservation of France's radio, television, cable, and satellite programming--an assignment they've been working on since 1975. France is unique in that it's the only country in the western world in which broadcast heritage is recognized to be a solely public function.
There are, as you can see, a number of models and variants that Canada could adapt for its own use, and there are more that we've tabled with the clerk. In all of them, CBC/Radio-Canada, as our national public broadcaster and a major source of local, regional, and national programming, must be positioned, and resources play a major role.
We believe the importance of this responsibility should be referenced in the corporation's mandate and that funds should be earmarked to deal appropriately with the trove of historical material it currently holds. In order to achieve this, it's going to be necessary for CBC/Radio-Canada to develop strategic precepts that will guide the application of its heritage responsibility on a national basis. In future, this will also enable the corporation to participate actively with institutions with complementary interests like Library and Archives Canada, Office national du film du Canada, private broadcasters, and ourselves, so it can play a suitable role in the development and celebration of Canada's national broadcast collection.
For these reasons, we therefore propose that the legislative mandate of the CBC now contained in the Broadcasting Act, I think of 1991, be slightly amended, particularly with reference to subparagraph (vi), so that it would read in future:
contribute to shared national consciousness and identity through its programming services and by preserving programming and related artifacts that tell the evolving story of the social, economic, cultural, and political history of Canada.
Thank you for your attention. We'd be happy to answer any questions you may have.