Canadian Heritage Committee on Dec. 6th, 2007

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Schellenberger]

Good morning, everyone, and welcome to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, meeting number 7.

Pursuant to Standing Orders 110 and 111, we are here on the order in council appointment of Hubert T. Lacroix to the position of president and chief executive officer of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, CBC/Radio-Canada, referred to the committee on November 19, 2007.

Welcome this morning to our witness, as an individual, Hubert T. Lacroix, designate president and chief executive officer, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation/ Radio-Canada.

Welcome, sir. We look forward to your remarks here this morning. You have the floor, sir.

[Hubert T. Lacroix, Designate President and Chief Executive Officer, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)/Radio-Canada, As an Individual]

Thank you very much.

Mr. Chairman, members of the committee, good morning and thank you for the opportunity to meet with you today to talk about my appointment as President and CEO to CBC/Radio-Canada.

In less than a month, I will begin what I think is one of the most fascinating jobs in Canada—leading one our country's largest cultural institutions. It will be a great honour for me to take on this job, and please understand that I am very aware of its responsibilities and that I am ready to take them on.

Radio and television—and increasingly the Internet—are today the principal vehicles of culture in our society, and some of the best tools that we have to reach out to all Canadians. I believe that CBC/Radio-Canada is the most effective disseminator and promoter of Canadian culture that we have.

Given all the cultural influences coming from other countries, Canadians must be able to count on a strong and independent national public broadcaster which reflects their reality and their identity.

You have my résumé in front of you, I am sure. As you can see, I've been a business lawyer for many years. I was fortunate to be exposed to and to advise some of the best business persons in Canada, people who ran multinational corporations, whose activities extended way beyond the borders of our country.

I've also had the privilege of acting as a director of public companies. Since my first board with CircoCraft in 1984, I have sat on the boards of 10 public companies, in various roles. I have also led and managed a large multi-investment private holding company. At Télémédia, I oversaw the operations of 14 different companies in radio, publishing, indoor advertising, real estate, semiconductor chips, and wireless services.

I have thus helped companies, both private and public, navigate through and compete successfully in rapidly changing business environments. I have seen patterns, threats, and challenges. I have moved management teams to face those threats, and often see them as opportunities. I have built teams. I have led teams of individuals with great abilities.

These are the skills today that I bring to our public broadcaster.

But, Mr. Chairman, my job is not to create programs. As I am sure you are aware, Richard Stursberg and Sylvain Lafrance are responsible at CBC/Radio-Canada for leading very talented teams of programmers working throughout the Corporation.

I believe that my job is to direct and manage; to develop an environment where our employees can be as creative as possible. My job is to understand the media industry; to identify new trends; to be familiar with how programming is being consumed and financed; to pursue strategic alliances; and to find new sources of income. If I do that successfully, the Corporation will have the tools and motivation to continue making programming that is relevant and compelling.

Like most Canadians, I have lived my whole life with CBC/Radio-Canada. I grew up with Bobino et Bobinette; then a few minutes of La Boîte à Surprise before my mother kicked me upstairs to do my homework.

I also followed hockey religiously and got to understand and appreciate the game through the eyes and voices of Danny Gallivan, Dick Irvin and René Lecavalier. When I was older, The National, Le téléjournal and Le Point became my key sources of information.

And then later on, Ross Porter introduced me to jazz and turned me into a fan.

Later, when I actually worked for Radio-Canada—as a basketball commentator on Télévision de Radio-Canada for three Olympics and as a reporter for the weekly program, Hebdo-sports, on Radio de Radio-Canada—I came to admire the dedication of the people at this Corporation.

Each person on the team, from those who put up the sets to the technicians in the studio, to the producers, to the people on air, every one and all of them were always committed to excellence, to creating the best show possible every time, all the time. I really liked that attitude.

When I was deciding whether to accept this job, I met with a couple of CBC/Radio-Canada senior executives and with the chairman of the board. I saw again that same incredible passion for excellence that I had seen in the studio. I've heard more of it over the past weeks as I've travelled a bit and talked with employees of the corporation. I've been listening to their views and their ideas about the challenges that lie ahead. My intention is pursue this dialogue with employees, stakeholders, and key business leaders across the country to better understand how they view CBC/Radio-Canada so that I can accomplish my mandate with maximum effectiveness and momentum.

I am very aware of your commitment to Canadian culture and your ongoing interest in CBC/Radio-Canada, including your current review of its mandate. That's why I am very much looking forward to your report, which will give added substance and direction to my mandate. I'm also eager to meet with you often during my term to hear what you think of the job we are doing.

I understand also that CBC/Radio-Canada is above all a creative organization. It must take risks and evolve continuously, and it has obviously a special role to play in the life of this country. But like any large corporation, it also has to take care of its employees, balance its budget, finance its programming, and deliver value to Canadians.

In this job, I will always ask the tough questions: Does this fit into our mandate? What are our strengths? What can we do better? Are people watching? Are people listening? Are people using our services? If so, why? If not, why not? And is what we are doing adding value to CBC/Radio-Canada?

I believe that in order for CBC/Radio-Canada to fulfil its mandate, there must be great creativity and good management—never one at the expense of the other.

Like me, you know that there are tremendous changes transforming the broadcasting environment right now. To succeed in this context, CBC/Radio-Canada must continue to be creative and must employ audacious strategies.

My skills, together with the tremendous talents of the management team that Robert Rabinovitch brought together, and thanks to the devotion of the Corporation's employees, will help ensure that the national public broadcaster thrives in this new environment.

Mr. Chairman, I would be pleased now to answer any questions you might have.

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Schellenberger]

Thank you very much for that presentation.

Our first question today will come from Mr. Bélanger.

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Thank you, Mr. Lacroix, and welcome. I realize that we probably belong to the same generation because I also watched Bobino et Bobinette and La Boîte à Surprise. I was very disappointed when Radio-Canada dropped La Soirée du hockey. I also had the pleasure of watching Les Couche-Tard from time to time, with Jacques Normand and Roger Baulu.

Mr. Lacroix, in your presentation, you talked about assessing the threats and challenges facing CBC/Radio-Canada. Quite quickly, because I'd like to go back to two or three other points, tell us what those threats are, in your view.

[Hubert T. Lacroix]

As you know, I will take up my position on January 2, but I can tell you about the main threats that I see right now.

First, CBC/Radio-Canada's business environment has changed a great deal. There is significant consolidation in the financial markets, and the people and companies with which the corporation does business, works and competes have financial assets and can use their lines of credit, their balance sheets, to do things that it can't do. So there's obviously a question of strategic planning underlying that financing.

Second, our audience in Canada is changing considerably. The population is aging, urbanizing and diversifying to a great extent. There is constant talk of multiculturalism. Programming has to follow developments in Canada.

Those are the first two challenges we'll be facing, Mr. Bélanger.

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

I didn't see the exact words I was looking for, but the message seems to be the one I want to hear, and that is that, when you become President of CBC/Radio-Canada, you will state categorically that you will tirelessly support the necessity and promotion of a public broadcaster.

Am I putting words in your mouth, or are you prepared to make such a statement?

[Hubert T. Lacroix]

I wouldn't have accepted the offer to work at Radio-Canada if I was not convinced of that. I think that CBC/Radio-Canada plays a very important role. If we dilute the public broadcaster in any way or break it up by withdrawing opportunities for action, we would strike at the very substance of Canada's culture.

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

A number of us in the Parliament of Canada feel that Canadian culture and content are necessary and need to be protected.

Do you agree?

[Hubert T. Lacroix]

Absolutely. That's part of the mandate conferred on us under the act. We need strong Canadian content. There's no doubt about that.

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

In your view, what resources should be used to preserve that Canadian content?

[Hubert T. Lacroix]

I'll be starting on January 2, Mr. Bélanger. I can't wait to sit down with the management team and to see what tools are in place. I am anxious to see the strategies it has developed. I'll be much more in a position to answer your question when I reappear before the committee.

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Do I have a bit more time?

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Schellenberger]

You have more time, yes.

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

In your presentation, you said that one of the things you wanted to do was to build strategic alliances. I quote: “[...] and to find new sources of revenue.”

Does that mean that you would abandon all hope of increasing current revenue sources?

[Hubert T. Lacroix]

Absolutely not. I'm very much aware of the mandate review you are conducting. I am also familiar with the presentations that have been made to you. Obviously, I'll be coming back to see you often to talk to you about our projects. I hope you will support them so that all funding resources are put at the Corporation's disposal and that they enable it to continue playing its role.

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

D'accord.

Would you envisage in any circumstances the privatization of any of the units of CBC/Radio-Canada—television, radio...?

[Hubert T. Lacroix]

It's not the mandate I have right now. The mandate I have is clearly to continue doing what the act says we should be doing: compelling programing, making sure we connect Canadians together. That is where I'm going to start analyzing this company.

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

The only portion of the answer that disquiets me a little bit is that “it's not the mandate” you currently have. If such a mandate were to be put before you, what would your reaction be?

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

A point of order, Mr. Chair.

Mr. Lacroix is appearing before us under Standing Orders 110 and 111, and the focus of this meeting is to establish his qualifications; that's very clear under those two sections of the Standing Orders. What Mr. Bélanger is asking the witness to do is speculate on what he might do in the future. It's a hypothetical question. It's inappropriate within the context of this hearing, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Schellenberger]

Okay.

Mr. Bélanger.

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

The nature of the discussion today is to also determine the qualifications and the mindset of the person who would be asked to preside over the single largest cultural institution in this country. At some point, we may have to ask hypothetical questions, and if he chooses not to answer, that's fine. But I don't believe we should be precluding the members of this committee asking such questions, because they may be very important.

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Schellenberger]

Right now, I think what we'll do is carry on with the questioning. We'll stick to the qualifications. Those particular items I think are hypothetical right now. We're in a study, and to that extent we're putting things forward. I have not seen anything like that in our study.

[Mauril Bélanger, Liberal, Ottawa—Vanier, ON]

Mr. Chairman, it's not hypothetical, in the sense that the parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, in a minority report, has recommended, on behalf of his party at the time, the privatization of CBC television. It is in that sense not very hypothetical.

Let me rephrase my question. How, Mr. Lacroix, do you react to the minority report presented by Mr. Abbott on behalf of the Alliance or Reform Party about the privatization of CBC television?

[Ed Fast, Conservative, Abbotsford, BC]

A point of order, Mr. Chair.

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Schellenberger]

I'm going to rule that question out of order. I don't think any minority reports that were done previously have relevance here today.

We'll carry on to Ms. Mourani.