Good morning, Mr. Chairman. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.
My name is Jacqueline Turgeon, and I am President of the Syndicat des employés de bureau de Radio-Canada, of the Syndicat canadien de la fonction publique. With me is Michel Bibeault, Union Advisor and Coordinator, Communications Sector at CUPE. We are pleased to be able to discuss with you a very important issue, the role of the public broadcaster in the twenty-first century. From the outset, we would emphasize that the role of a public broadcaster will be all the more relevant for twenty-first century issues. Media fragmentation, specialty channels, on-demand services and the Internet will mean fewer gathering places where citizens can meet and discuss their communities, be they local, regional or national.
In this new media universe, consumers will increasingly have access to an enormous selection of audiovisual products. The question that will then arise is this: what product do you choose? In a fragmented market, Radio-Canada has a not negligible asset: recognition of a brand name that is an expression of our identity values and a guarantee of high quality in programming and information.
In the name of social cohesion, we must ensure that this public place, the public broadcaster, continues to exist. It is our view that the mandate set out in the Broadcasting Act adequately reflects the mission of a truly national public broadcaster. However, the Broadcasting Act, more broadly, could be amended to give clear priority to news programs and information. Section 3 states the objectives of Canada's broadcasting system as a whole. An amendment of the wording to reflect the importance of that type of programming would be desirable.
The communities far away from major centres such as Montreal regularly express their dissatisfaction over the more frequent broadcasting of the information from Montreal. There is a decline in the spread and especially gathering of local news. In Quebec, we call that the “Montrealization of the airwaves”, and Radio-Canada's airwaves are no exception.
A similar recommendation was made by the Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications in its final report on the Canadian media, published in June 2006. Promoting information in that way would be beneficial not only for Radio-Canada, which excels in this niche, but also for the broadcasting system as a whole. We must now ensure that the necessary tax and regulatory parameters are put in place to support and defend the values expressed in the Broadcasting Act. The annual subsidies paid by Ottawa to Radio-Canada declined from $946 million to $877 million between 1994 and 2004. This gradual withdrawal by the government leads us to fear the worst, particularly at a time when it should be more of a presence on a larger number of platforms.
For the public broadcaster to be effective, it must be independent of political influence. Thus, to ensure its stability, parliamentary allocations should be paid on a multi-year basis. In addition, Radio-Canada's budget has been cut, to the benefit of independent producers, and the impact of that on the industry as a whole has never been measured. Independent producers are benefiting from a system that continues to favour them, despite the fact that they are not accountable to taxpayers. To understand the scope of the problem, consider the following example.
Our members who work in the television production field have informed us that a program that used to be produced by Radio-Canada and that today is produced outside the corporation now costs approximately 25% more to make.
A program produced outside undeniably costs Radio-Canada less because it only pays 20% of the production budget to broadcast it over its airwaves. However, the question must be asked: is that the best way to spend public money?
Thirty-seven percent of the Canadian Television Fund budget is reserved for independent productions that are broadcast on its airwaves. However, we believe that Radio-Canada should be able to access this money for its own productions in order to foster creation and production by public broadcasting artists.
This change would be even more pertinent seeing that the CTF funds four distinct categories of programs: drama, documentaries, youth programs and variety and the performing arts. Radio-Canada's mandate requires it to broadcast exactly these types of programs. Consequently, it should be granted the means to carry out its public function and fulfil its mandate, thus doing its duty to society.
As an introduction to our discussion today, we simply wanted to reiterate our main ideas and concerns. We are now available to discuss with you the subjects we have just raised or any other question concerning the role of the public broadcaster in the twenty-first century.