Thank you.
We have gotten into a broad discussion about the CBC, and that is valid. Canadians are rightly interested in their public broadcaster. As Canadians, we all contribute to it, about $33 a head, as a matter of fact, so we all have a stake in the CBC.
That said, I'm just curious. What we've been talking about a lot and what the study is about is the CBC Radio Orchestra. Mr. Siksay has put forward a number of times that it's a national institution based in Vancouver. There aren't a lot of them there, and the concern is about what is to become of the CBC Radio Orchestra. I have been listening to all the comments, and I have some concerns.
I'll tell you openly that I fit into the 90% bracket Mr. Chong mentioned that doesn't listen to the CBC radio station regularly. I'm quite fond of and regularly attend concerts of classical music and other genres. It hasn't been a motivator for me, and it hasn't prevented me from getting there.
I'd like to put this forward for anyone. How would you classify the loss of the CBC Radio Orchestra? What is it going to mean to artists in Canada? Second, if there is a loss there, where is the opportunity? Who gains by it is the other thing. I've heard a bit of both. I've heard that this is a major loss, but I've also heard that in this loss there's an opportunity.
Sometimes from a business side you evaluate a product and you find that it's in decline. Then you decide either to invest in it and build it back up or to drop it and move on to a new product. It seems CBC made the decision to drop this and move on to a new product.
I would ask you, what are we losing in this institution? Second, who is the beneficiary? Is that a fair trade-off? I don't like it that artists are being pitted against artists, but it seems that the CBC has made this choice.