Canadian Heritage Committee on May 15th, 2007

[Robin Jackson]

It's for the common good.

[Chris Warkentin, Conservative, Peace River, AB]

—fragmentation of the television audience right now.

If we're not aiming to attract more than there are currently—and we're seeing a downward trend in terms of the audience, the percentage of Canadians who are watching CBC—if we aren't trying to reverse that trend and yet we're still asking taxpayers to increasingly give more, I think there's an issue here in terms of us asking Canadians to give more but we're giving less back. I think that's the paradigm we're all trying to grapple with here, around the table.

I strongly believe we have to have a CBC all Canadians can have some affiliation with. And I'm not saying they have to watch it all the time, but I'm saying every Canadian should have some desire to watch it at some point. So that's the question. Maybe I have to change my thinking in terms of believing that the CBC is not or should not be for all people, but I'm not willing to concede that as of yet, unless you can give me an argument as to why that should be.

[Robin Jackson]

Again I go back to CBC radio. I don't know why that's working, and nobody is complaining about that.

[Chris Warkentin, Conservative, Peace River, AB]

I think there are reasons for that, and I think fragmentation is one of the reasons. As we're looking at new media, we're seeing a major assault on CBC radio in terms of satellite radio.

I'm just a layperson, I'm not a statistics-type person, but I do listen to my constituents. More and more I hear people are getting satellite radio, and there's competition. Currently, the CBC is the only talk radio station that's provided in my area, but now, with satellite radio, there's major competition. I'm just wondering how we preserve the audience share, or preserve the necessity for CBC, period, in this increasingly fragmented world. If we don't start to identify ways we can bring more audience to the CBC, we're in real trouble.

[Robin Jackson]

Are you talking about the content, or the distribution platforms? I'm not sure they're necessarily the same.

[Chris Warkentin, Conservative, Peace River, AB]

Well, they may not be, but I think content is the first thing that will drive people to access whatever platform is available.

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Schellenberger]

We'll have to end with that. Our time is up.

I thank our witnesses this morning for their answers and for their presentations.

We'll recess for just a few minutes to get our next witnesses ready.

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Schellenberger]

Welcome back. Welcome to our new witnesses here this morning.

I understand that you do have a presentation that is going to be done, so I welcome you. You'll have to bear with me; I'm a unilingual person, but I'm trying. We welcome the Association des radiodiffuseurs communautaires du Québec, the National Campus and Community Radio Association, and the Alliance des radios communautaires du Canada. Welcome to your groups, and I welcome whoever is going to make the presentation first.

Thank you.

[Brigitte Duchesneau, Secretary-Treasurer, Association des radiodiffuseurs communautaires du Québec]

The members of the three associations would like to introduce themselves.

I represent the Association des radiodiffuseurs communautaires du Québec. The aim of the association, which was established in 1979, is to further the recognition of community radio.

We represent 30 radio stations from throughout the province of Quebec. We have a presence in 17 administrative regions. We have an audience of 500,000 listeners in Quebec. Our membership numbers 22,000. These radio stations employ 230 people, and every year, about 1,500 volunteers contribute to our programing. Our annual sales total more than $10 million.

Last year we came together under the Radiovision banner to create a brand image for Quebec community radio.

My colleagues will now address the committee.

[Magalie Paré, Assistant, Communications and Members Services, Association des radiodiffuseurs communautaires du Québec]

My name is Magalie Paré and I am an assistant with ARC's Communications and Member Services. With me is Brigitte Duchesneau, the Secretary-Treasurer of the board of directors of the Association des radiodiffuseurs communautaires du Québec.

[John Harris Stevenson, Advisory Board, National Campus and Community Radio Association]

I'm John Harris Stevenson. I'm on the advisory board of the National Campus and Community Radio Association. I'm also president of CHUO--FM, here at the University of Ottawa.

[Melissa Kaestner, National Coordinator, National Campus and Community Radio Association]

I'm Melissa Kaestner from the National Campus and Community Radio Association, the NCRA. I work with John. I'm the national coordinator for our association.

We've been in existence since 1981 and we have a similar mandate to help develop and promote the campus and community broadcasting sector for English Canada. Currently, we have about 47 members in our association. They represent campus-based stations as well as community stations. We also have small closed-circuit stations as well as native stations and one Internet-only broadcaster at the moment. Our individual revenue is approximately $4 million. We make our money mostly through fundraising and donations.

[Serge Paquin, Secretary General, Alliance des radios communautaires du Canada]

My name is Serge Paquin and I am the Secretary General of the Alliance des radios communautaires du Canada.

Our movement currently represents 21 operating stations, nine stations that are under development, four of which will be going on air this year. We have a presence in nine provinces and two territories. We produce 76,000 hours of local original Canadian programming per year. That represents a large number of hours and involves about 1,000 volunteers.

It can be said that French language community radio outside Quebec contributes greatly to the development of the French language and culture. We have about 250,000 listeners and our ratings are out of this world. I have a feeling that the public broadcaster might be a little jealous of the success that we have had in the regions. This is radio that people can relate to, and it meets a local need. The community can identify with this type of service, and that is why it works so well.

[Magalie Paré]

I will explain what we would like to discuss with you today. We will provide you with an outline of our sector. We represent three associations, but we work together on certain issues that are common to all of us. We will explain what community radio in Canada is all about, particularly as it relates to the CBC. Then, we will tell you about a project that is of great interest to us, namely a Canadian fund for community radio.

[John Harris Stevenson]

We sometimes think of Canada's media landscape as having really two monoliths that are sometimes in opposition to each other, one being commercial radio and the other being CBC/Radio-Canada. But the legislation that defines a broadcasting system in Canada actually defines three components: public, private, and community.

Private radio, as you know, is broadcasting for profit. The aim of commercial outlets is to provide popular programming that attracts an audience. Therefore, commercial broadcasters are often as answerable to the businesses that advertise with them as with audiences or regulators. Music and information programming of private radio is typically directed toward entertainment, and that makes economic sense for them.

Public radio, on the other hand, is a form of public service broadcasting and it's intended to serve diverse needs of a listening public on the national level. The competition in which CBC should be engaged is in good programming rather than numbers, with quality as a prime concern. Public broadcasting, particularly in Canada, is geographically universal. That means that broadcasts are available nationwide with no exceptions. While this creates a single consistent service for all Canadians, it is also inherently top-down. The criticism one often hears of the CBC—and it's a bit of a cliché at this point—is that there's too much decision-making taking place in Toronto and Montreal. But systemically the CBC will always do a better job of national programming than it will of local programming.

This is where local and community media, the third sector of the broadcasting system, powered by people, comes in. Community radio is inherently bottom-up. While having a mandate in many ways similar to public broadcasting, community radio is even more clearly a public service broadcaster, with a twofold mission of social and cultural development, while providing essential local information and entertainment programming. The Broadcasting Act speaks specifically of this community mandate when it talks about diversity, drawing upon local resources, educational and community programming, and reflecting particular needs of linguistic minorities across the country. We believe that each of these elements has a place in the broadcasting system and there are sound economic reasons to support non-commercial broadcasting in Canada.

While cooperation between companies within a single industry, such as commercial broadcasting, may be necessary for the health of that industry as a whole, the industry also benefits from an external environment that is competitive. Non-commercial broadcasting contributes to this environment by providing creative innovation and identifying new potential marketplaces. We believe that commercial and public radio are stronger if the community radio sector is also strong.

[Magalie Paré]

To properly understand our role in Canada's broadcasting industry, it is essential to understand how community radio began here in Canada. The first student radio station was born in 1922, at Queen's University, in Kingston. Then, community radio developed in large urban centres, particularly during the 1970s, during a time of great social upheaval. Community radio stations sprung up in Montreal, Quebec City, Ottawa and Vancouver.

During the 1980s, the model became regionalized, and during that time, more specifically in 1988, the first French-language radio station outside Quebec, Radio Péninsule, went on the air in New Brunswick.

The creation of all of these stations led to changes in the broadcasting industry regulations. In 1991, the CRTC recognized community radio as a full-fledged industry partner. It was allowed to sell advertising and, therefore, take its rightful economic place within the broadcasting industry.

In closing, I would just like to mention that last week, the 141^st community radio station began broadcasting in Bécancour, on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, just across from Trois-Rivières.

[Melissa Kaestner]

We each individually talked about a few statistics from our associations. But when you look at the sector as a whole, we have approximately 140 stations, and those 140 stations have approximately 4,500 volunteers who come from the local communities that they serve, or in some cases with the universities, being from the students as well. The stations are run by approximately 500 staff people from across the country.

In terms of programming, we have approximately 6,200 different radio programs per week, which means tens of thousands of hours of locally produced programming on our stations. It's not only in English and French. As well, we have more than 40 different languages that are spoken on our stations.

[Serge Paquin]

On the next slide we have the CRTC definition, which I will not read in its entirety. What is important to remember is that we are all non-profit organizations. Community radio stations and campus radio stations belong to the community, which is responsible for their management, their programming and their operations. It is essentially an economic development, social and cultural tool that serves the communities. We have a very diversified mandate.

Because our resources are limited, it is difficult for us to respond to the musical tastes of all members of these communities. Our play list must include a number of musical genres in order to please the general listening public, which means that, unlike private radio, which is often in the mainstream and plays popular music, we are limited in the type of musical content that we can broadcast.

I would like to say a final word about our strong community mandate, as it appears in the definition. Unfortunately, the CBC was unsuccessful in its attempt to bring itself closer to the community through community radio. It is often not very easy for the public broadcaster to increase its ratings in some regions, particular in very remote francophone regions. One might wonder why the ratings are so low, almost non existent in some regions. The CBC has tried to get closer to the communities, but has not been very successful in its attempts.

The mandate of community radio is very different from that of public radio. Both are respected, but the CBC should not now engage in local coverage. That, for the time being, is the mandate of our radio stations and, as our ratings demonstrate, we are doing a masterful job.

[Brigitte Duchesneau]

I would like to give you an example of the type of radio station that we have in Canada. The first one is CKIA. It is a community radio station located in Quebec City's lower town, with a good broadcast range throughout the city. It is about 25 years old, and there are 150 volunteers working there at this time. With respect to content, they broadcast a number of public affairs programs as well as a morning socio-political current affairs program. Quite a bit of airtime is dedicated to community affairs in the Greater Quebec City region. As to musical content, the station plays a lot of international and emerging music. They try to play the type of music that one would not hear on commercial radio stations.

Of course, that is their general mandate. They aim to support citizen participation and to produce culturally diverse programming. When I say “they”, I am, of course, referring to CKIA. A great deal of importance is given to local news programming.

This community radio station has evolved over the past few years; it has repositioned itself. As you know, the face of radio has changed. A community radio station must constantly review what it is doing. CKIA has adopted a rather multicultural approach in Quebec City because of the influx of immigrants in recent years.

That gives you an idea of what an urban radio station is all about.

[Serge Paquin]

Thank you, Brigitte.

Our association has chosen Radio CKJM, Radio Chéticamp, a cooperative. Approximately 50% of our members are part of a cooperative.

The birth of this radio station truly transformed the lives of the people of Chéticamp. It was a revolution. Before CKJM people did not listen to French radio at all. They were isolated. Chéticamp is located in Cape Breton, very close to the Cabot Trail. It is a very isolated and small region, where French has been spoken for the last 400 years. The area's economic mainstay is fishing, but there's also industry and tourism.

In 1995, the opening of the radio station truly transformed the lives of the people of Chéticamp. They discovered French music and local talent. They have a recording studio and the music of local artists is played on the airwaves. People speak French with their particular accent, people understand each other, listen to one another talk. Three thousand five hundred francophones live in the region of Chéticamp. People are actively involved in this small radio station which employs four permanent workers. This is quite a feat.

The radio station truly contributes to the region's economic and social development. The radio holds many events, including a hospital fundraiser. It is truly an exemplary radio station. Through a non-scientific, in-house survey, we discovered that 90% of the locals listen to the station. It is therefore obvious that a radio station grounded in the community, a station that meets the community's needs, truly breathes life and injects vitality into the French-speaking community. People are currently looking for CDs in French, but no one is selling them. The radio station has stepped in and is now selling French-language CDs. People have become hooked, and are actively contributing to this very dynamic radio station.

[Melissa Kaestner]

From the English sector, I turn to a station in Nelson, B.C., which is CJLY. I think it's an excellent example of community involvement and commitment. They're a co-op. The call letters are CJLY, but they're called Kootenay Co-op Radio. It's in a very small local community. As a co-op, their members join the radio station. They have over 1,400 people from the community who have taken out memberships with the radio station.

As a community station, they struggle a lot for their sources of revenue, and they have to be somewhat creative from time to time. But on top of the fact that they've had all of their equipment donated, including equipment from the CBC, they recently needed a new location. The community got together and built the radio station a building, from the concrete, to the wood, to the plumbing, to the electricity, and to the permits. The community came together and donated time, services, and labour to create a building for the radio station to broadcast from.

The radio station exemplifies the key characteristics that our stations have in terms of diversity of programming, voices, and participation. It's a little different from the campus radio stations, but you can find similar stories across the board.

[Magalie Paré]

Sometimes, stereotypes abound. People think that community radio stations are trend from the 1970s. But that's not the case, because community radio stations are riding a wave of popularity in Canada at the moment. Proposals for new stations are springing up around the country.

According to our own analysis of the situation, the trend can be traced to media ownership concentration which has resulted in a loss of local news sources, a situation reminiscent of Radio-Canada's budget cutbacks during the 1990s which led to the shutdown of regional news broadcasting stations, a move that only exacerbated the need for local news.

For this reason, since the late 1990s and the early years of the 21st century, our sector has been greatly revitalized, to the point where many citizens are now actively involved in the movement to establish new community radio stations.

[Serge Paquin]

People do indeed have long-standing perceptions of community radio. It is often said that community radio stations are subsidized. But in actual fact, NCRA member stations do not receive any subsidies to cover their operating or capital costs. Stations represented by the ARC receive funding under the Official Languages Support Program envelope, equivalent to 50% of their capital cost. This means that a community must come up with the remaining 50% from taxpayers in order to set up a radio station. This is why establishing a radio station is a endeavour of seven to eight years in the making, notwithstanding all of the other stages in the process. Once they are on the air, radio stations do not receive any subsidies.

Quebec is the only province in Canada that recognizes the importance of community media. Since the 1980s, a program in place supplies between 10% and 20% of the funding needed to meet the operating requirements of certain stations, primarily remote stations that serve as the main source of regional information.

Therefore, it's a myth that community radio is funded by the State. This is not true. Most, if not the vast majority of community radio stations must raise funds each year in order to meet their budgetary requirements. That is the current state of affairs. Community radio has been left to fend for itself. Our government is not concerned with the community sector of the broadcasting industry. It puts all of its eggs in one basket—the Crown corporation—without any regard to the community sector, which plays an important and pivotal role in Canada's social and cultural development, in the preservation of Canadian sovereignty and in the dissemination of local news. I believe it's high time for our government to realize that the community sector has something to say and does contribute to the development of broadcasting in Canada.

[John Harris Stevenson]

Looking at community radio policy from a global perspective, Canada is the exception rather than the rule when it comes to how it approaches non-commercial radio. The countries that appear on the slide, and several other industrialized countries, have a more consistent approach to non-commercial media. They don't make a clear regulatory distinction between public media on one extreme and community media on the other. They see them all as non-commercial media contributing something important to the broadcasting system.

While I could go through any of those countries and explain how they fund community media in their own way, the United States is of particular interest. In the United States, as you're probably aware, there are two separate entities that are the prime movers in non-commercial media. One is the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which is the funding mechanism. A separate organization for radio, National Public Radio, is the main provider of content to radio stations.

Because there are no clear regulatory distinctions between community and public, a station in Denver like WGNU receives about 15% of its revenue from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, yet it broadcasts no National Public Radio programming whatsoever. It identifies itself as independent community radio, but because of its local service imperative it receives funding through this mechanism.

On the other extreme is WGBH in Boston, which I think some of you get on cable in different parts of the country. It clearly describes itself as public radio. Its schedule is made up almost completely of National Public Radio and other public radio programming, but it receives a similar proportion of CPB funding.

The separation in Canada, this false dichotomy, between the two sectors is a bit artificial. In the United States they support nearly 800 stations through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting--rural, urban, ethnic, and all sorts of different formats.

[Brigitte Duchesneau]

To satisfy the needs of Canadians, we believe that a Canadian fund for community radios should be created. This fund would support cultural diversity and community involvement and promote local news.

The mission, goal and mandate of the Community Radio Fund of Canada would be to help community radio stations reach their full potential as a well-funded, independent, diverse, dynamic and accessible sector of the Canadian media.

The Community Radio Fund of Canada would be a not-for-profit organization that would solicit and disperse funds for the development and maintenance of local programming in community and campus radio stations, in both urban and rural areas. The funding structure would be such that it would provide a solid guarantee of independence and thus garner the public's trust. Transparency and accountability would guide the administration of these funds.