Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
First, let me congratulate our new president. I wish you all the best.
Bob and I go back a lot of years. In fact, I started on this committee in 1997 and sat here for probably four years. I can certainly say that you've done an excellent job.
As you indicated, the position is really non-partisan, and you're a terrific example of being non-partisan. I know that over the years you've taken time to talk to everybody, all the different caucuses, and made it a non-partisan position. So let me say thank you for your service to this country.
I've always been a great believer in the CBC, because I believe the CBC is sort of like the glue that keeps this country together, only because it's such a large country from coast to coast to coast. In terms of the future, I think it probably has an even bigger role to play than even in its past. I know the challenges, as you say, with all the different media modes today, but you have to be involved in every one of them.
In your initiative to go back to the community radio stations, it's almost like going back to the future. At one time, you did have stations in the smaller communities, and television stations as well. I know a lot of them were shut down.
I have the second-largest settled settled riding in the country. I know CBC is well utilized by rural Canadians in my riding. The two issues they have are that they just love the radio, because it really keeps them in tune with what's going on. There are portions of my riding that actually don't have a regional radio station. They have to rely on Saskatchewan and small FM stations that don't go too far.
But the other concern—maybe it's a dated thing—is television broadcast over the air. Maybe that is a thing of the past. So perhaps you can answer that question. Is over-the-air TV broadcasting a thing of the past?