This is exactly what we are afraid of.
It is exactly that. With the recent creation of the Canada Media Fund, the merger of the Canadian Television Fund and, especially, access to the fund by producers or conventional television broadcasters means that they will be able to virtually eliminate all competition from independent producers.
To access that fund, independent producers must have a broadcaster's broadcasting licence. If the broadcaster has access to the fund, do you think it will grant a licence to an independent producer? No. It will try to produce on its own. That's precisely where this leads us.
In Quebec, we are 3,000 technicians, crafts people, creators and designers who produce this television. I don't know how I'm going to explain to my members why the government made this decision, which will lead to the creation of a vertically integrated production and broadcasting monopoly and that, despite the success of their productions, they will be losing their jobs and their livelihood.
In its presentation at the CRTC hearings, TVA asked to be able to reproduce successes like Star Académie and Annie et ses hommes. I would humbly point out to you that those programs were produced by independent producers. If TVA wants to reproduce those success stories, it has to have the ingredients and the recipe to do it. But it's the independent technicians who have those ingredients, and not any in-and-out. It's an emulation of creation, and it's precisely what TVA won't be able to reproduce.
TVA will be able to reproduce the model from 30 years ago with two voices: the voice of Radio-Canada and that of TVA. That's why we think this decision must be reviewed by the government.