I see Mr. Schellenberger looking at me, but this is the last couple of paragraphs.
In closing, we would like to reiterate the three key messages in our presentation.
The first message is that CBC/Radio-Canada provides an important public service, and it must be strengthened in the rapidly changing digital age of the 21st century. Parliament must increase its allocation to the public broadcaster from the current $33 per Canadian to $45 per Canadian per year over the next 10 years. This would bring Canada closer to the average among industrialized countries when it comes to the funding of such an important service to its population.
Finally, Parliament should provide the public broadcaster with a 10-year mandate. This new mandate would respect the values and needs of Canadians across the country. There must be a strong commitment to support local and regional programming. And lastly, before the 10-year mark is reached, the mandate should be reviewed via, again, a public process such as this one and by Parliament.
That concludes our presentation. On behalf of Lise Lareau and Benoit Cantin, I would like to sincerely thank you for having given us this opportunity to add our voices to this important debate. We are open to your questions and will be pleased to answer them.