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.