You've probably heard in the last few weeks all about the technological advances--the Internet, new media--and certain people are arguing that we need less. There's just more diversity out there. In my view, there's a misconception that there's more information available to everyone. I would argue there is a whole lot of opinion, interaction, blogs--no question about it--but it's actually gotten to be more difficult to get news and stories about what's going on in our local communities. You ask any newsmaker across the country. It's harder to get local news now than it ever has been. Probably mostly it's because of consolidation. Probably a whole other group of people should study that. But local news is in trouble. It's not being done anymore. It's not being done in the big markets, the little markets, and the ones in between. This is one of the reasons this committee, I think earlier, urged the CBC to develop a plan to reinvigorate its local and regional services.
Well, the good news is that CBC has now begun doing just that. It's increasing its local TV news programming, going from half an hour to an hour, and adding regional lifestyle programs to the TV schedule. It's a great move. We applaud it, because as journalists and consumers of Canadian news, we've witnessed firsthand this decline in local programming. But it's being done without any new money, and it's being done on a hop, skip, and a prayer. Our people are working hard at these programs, but there is no new money for them, and there will be glitches, and it won't be what it could be if it were funded properly. So that's another reason, again, to look at increased funding.
I know that Bev Oda, in a speech she gave here in Toronto in the winter, about eight weeks ago, mentioned the need for local programming and the lack and deterioration of local programming over the last five or six years.
So as the CBC moves to fund this local initiative, what it means is that it must either cut from other important areas and/or focus on more commercial priorities in prime time. We don't like either of those things. You heard from the group earlier this morning about how the CBC has moved away from literary programming, as an example. I know you were engaged with the...I don't know the name of the organization. I believe this is a direct result of a broadcaster that recently has been compelled to program for advertising revenue, and it can no longer do the things it should as a public broadcaster.
So we urge that you not only recommend the increase I spoke of earlier—the appropriation to $45 per year per Canadian—but that you also dedicate some of that new funding to the provision of local news and programming, and you make that specific.
As I mentioned earlier, please pay attention to the many calls you've heard from other groups, not just us, for a change to the governance model at the CBC. Look, governance is not sexy and no one likes to spend a lot of time on it, okay? I get it. But we live with it every day, and it needs to be changed. As I said earlier, after 10 years of doing my job, I can say we have to come up with a new model for governance at the CBC. Please, if you do one thing as a coordinated group, it would be highly appreciated.
Do you know that now the president and CEO of CBC serve at the pleasure of the PMO? Therefore, it's not entirely clear where the buck stops within the CBC. Governments of the day are understandably reluctant to interfere in CBC management, and we don't want them to, but when the president serves at the pleasure of the government, it's a very grey area. It's certainly not the best framework for good decision-making, no matter who serves in the job. So the board of the CBC needs to be able to hire and fire the president. That's a basic in governance.
Where should the members of the board come from? We recommend that the board be appointed by an all-party parliamentary committee, either yours or another one, based on a set series of qualifications. I know others who have been before you have recommended that the appointments could continue to be orders in council and then confirmed by Parliament. There are a few variations of this model. In the end, what's important is that whatever method you recommend, it has to be open and transparent. As others have said, there must be a separate chair and president.
These are recommendations, because the CBC will only be better if it has true independence from the government, if it's perceived to be independent from the government, and if it operates in such a way that people are accountable for their decisions.