In answer to your question, let me tell you a little story. I am sitting in a bar in Clare, a region in south-western Nova Scotia, Saulnierville, Comeauville. I ask the locals what radio station they listen to. They tell me they listen to CIFA, the local radio station. I ask them why they don't listen to the CBC/SRC. They answer that: “We don't understand anything they're saying”. They don't understand what they hear on the CBC/SRC.
How can a responsible radio station speak to a community in French, but in a type of French that people don't understand? Since 1991, we have been trying to establish closer ties with the CBC/SRC. We managed to negotiate a small advertising deal with the corporation, which used to send us recorded advertisements. That partnership lasted a few years. Since we wanted these vignettes to be adapted to our needs, and to the needs of the communities, there was a great deal of effort involved. Finally, the partnership ended because the CBC/SRC didn't have the funds.
In any case, the CBC/SRC is like an ivory tower. Decisions about French-language radio are made in Montreal. The tower is impregnable. They use the union as a scapegoat, but there are no programs. They have no mandate to help community radio, and there are hardly any partnerships in place.
I am not saying that they don't do good work. They do excellent work, because they have the money to do so. However, when a francophone minority is involved, then we have to wonder about their effectiveness and what they deliver. If they are no longer effective and if there are only a few dozen or a few hundred listeners, then perhaps a new formula is in order.