Mr. Chair, I'd like to make a recommendation. There's an important point here, and I think it's what Mr. Siksay is getting at.
I think the CBC as a public broadcaster must have their independence from government. We shouldn't be telling them what to do. That said, there is a responsibility to the public they serve. I think he wants to give them a voice. He wants them to be able to be heard, and I think that's important.
Certainly in other committees that I've been participating in we've been doing an awful lot of video conferencing. It actually works quite well. The committee doesn't have to leave town, the costs are low, and it's a very easy forum for people in Vancouver, for example. We can get as many witnesses in by video conference as you'd like.
So it may be a trade-off, I'm suggesting. It may be a means of getting accomplished what we want to accomplish. If there are people in Stratford who would like to speak on the issue, they can come in on video conference as well. It's very cost-effective, no one has to travel, it's a greener way of doing it, it has a lower carbon footprint; there are all kinds of positives on this. We can do it without any of us needing to impact our other commitments that we have as members of Parliament.
I would like to suggest that we can have this forum. We can provide this stage for people to speak their minds. I believe CBC will actually hear it, and they may well consider it in their ultimate decision. I think it's important. Let's do it by whatever means we can to make sure that we hear the voices.
I would like to suggest that perhaps we look at a video conference as a means of allowing people the forum and the access to us in Ottawa. At the same time, we'd be allowing people who would like to come to Ottawa the opportunity to appear before the committee.