Evidence of meeting #22 for Canadian Heritage in the 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was you're.
A recording is available from Parliament.
4:50 p.m.
Chairman, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
I don't think that's true. I'll have my colleague explain it.
4:50 p.m.
Vice-Chairman, Broadcasting, Chairman's Office, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
In your cable bill, you pay for your basic service, which is the over-the-air signals plus CPAC.
4:50 p.m.
Conservative
Dean Del Mastro Conservative Peterborough, ON
Well, I think there are a bunch of things in there. I think there's some U.S. broadcasting—
4:50 p.m.
Vice-Chairman, Broadcasting, Chairman's Office, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
There's the community channel that airs APTN, for which you're paying 25 cents.
4:50 p.m.
Conservative
Dean Del Mastro Conservative Peterborough, ON
Okay. So, Mr. Arpin, here's the point: you're going to put up the price of basic cable through this. There's no question in my mind that if you increase the local program improvement fund, you're going to put up the price of basic cable. If you get your way on number 4(c), you're going to put up the price of basic cable even more, but if I have a set of rabbit ears, I've never paid for any of it.
4:50 p.m.
Vice-Chairman, Broadcasting, Chairman's Office, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
Well, that's for sure.
4:50 p.m.
Conservative
4:50 p.m.
Vice-Chairman, Broadcasting, Chairman's Office, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
No.
4:50 p.m.
Vice-Chairman, Broadcasting, Chairman's Office, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
Well, historically, it has always been like that: those who subscribed to cable way back in the early fifties—
4:50 p.m.
Conservative
4:50 p.m.
Vice-Chairman, Broadcasting, Chairman's Office, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
No, no, not at all.
4:50 p.m.
Conservative
4:50 p.m.
Vice-Chairman, Broadcasting, Chairman's Office, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
No, no. Listen.
4:50 p.m.
Conservative
Dean Del Mastro Conservative Peterborough, ON
Number 4(c) is radically different from what exists right now.
4:50 p.m.
Chairman, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
Right now you are paying for the basic package, which includes, in the largest portion, the over-the-air TV. You're paying for it right now. To say that—
4:50 p.m.
Conservative
Dean Del Mastro Conservative Peterborough, ON
But it's going to go up in price because you want to give money from the BDUs to the broadcasters. They're going to pass that on to Canadians, including under the digital transition, and Canadians that receive over-the-air are not going to pay anything additional. In fact, Canadians who are receiving over-the-air are not going to pay into the local program improvement fund, and they don't pay in to the 3% that the cable companies are contributing towards the Canada media fund. That is my point. You're creating a two-tiered system.
4:50 p.m.
Chairman, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
We have that now. You can receive every signal you want in your area by rabbit ears and not pay a penny to a cable company. It's your choice to do that.
4:50 p.m.
Conservative
Dean Del Mastro Conservative Peterborough, ON
Okay, but 4(c) is going to put the price up for people who subscribe to cable, but people who receive via an antenna aren't going to pay anything more.
4:50 p.m.
Chairman, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
There may be a rise in cable fees. I don't dispute that. But to suggest it's a totally different system.... You have that system right now. You make the choice: you want to be a cable customer or you want to receive it over the air.
4:55 p.m.
Conservative
Dean Del Mastro Conservative Peterborough, ON
No, no, you're creating a different model between the BDUs and the broadcasters. That's the point.
I'm going to pass on to Ms. Grewal.
4:55 p.m.
Vice-Chairman, Broadcasting, Chairman's Office, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission
But just as a last word on that, the over-the-air operators, as we said earlier, also own specialty services. If the audience is to revert back to the rabbit ears, they're going to be losing over the distribution of their speciality services. So there is an equilibrium somewhere where everybody has to play fair ball: the BDU, because they want to protect their base, and the television operators, who want to make sure that their specialty services keep getting their revenues.
4:55 p.m.
Conservative
4:55 p.m.
Conservative
Nina Grewal Conservative Fleetwood—Port Kells, BC
If the BDUs are claiming they can't make enough in advertising revenues, why don't we just open up the market to things like the pharmaceutical industry and allow them to advertise in Canada? We already see this in the advertisements on the U.S. shows, so why not? It will add another $400 million in additional revenue. So could we just—
