Thank you, Mr. Chair.
And thank you, Mr. Minister, for coming before our committee today.
The question for us is your role in terms of CBC and the destabilizing atmosphere that occurred in the lead-up to their having to make their cuts. I'd like to quote Hubert Lacroix, who stated:
Does that mean that I like it when I read that his Government is rumoured to be contemplating helping CTV, Canwest and Quebecor after closing the door to our request for bridge funding? Does that mean that I like it when, with five days left in our fiscal year, I still don't have written confirmation of the approval of the special $60 million...at the same time I hear that Government says that it has given us record funding...? Does that mean that I like it when, with five days left in our fiscal year, our capital budget is stuck in Government processes somewhere in Ottawa? ... How can you plan your business, a $1.7-billion business, in this kind of environment?
Mr. Minister, it seems to me that with a nod and a wink you've been standing back watching CBC totter through its crisis, either through the incompetence of your government or a willingness. There was no clear signal sent to CBC until it was almost too late. How do you explain that?