Canadian Heritage Committee on May 6th, 2010

[Ruby Dhalla, Liberal, Brampton—Springdale, ON]

Shelly, I know you mentioned some recommendations. And I want to congratulate you for making an excellent presentation.

I know that the work you're doing across the country is very well received by the communities. As I always say, as the demographics of the country are changing, people are no longer watching some of the mainstream channels. They're really listening to their radio programs in their own languages and they're reading newspapers in their respective languages, which they feel they can connect to. You guys are doing a great job on that.

What is one recommendation you would make to the committee, on all the issues you've discussed, on what government needs to do in terms of providing you with the resources and tools you really need to succeed?

[Shelley Robinson]

Do you mean beyond the ones I mentioned to you?

[Ruby Dhalla, Liberal, Brampton—Springdale, ON]

Out of all the ones you mentioned, what is the one thing you would like to focus on or highlight for us?

[Shelley Robinson]

I'm sure there are many community organizations that come. We all need the same thing, and that is funding. For Telefilm, but also for the other presenters, we're already doing a lot of the things you're looking for, as you said. What we need is the capacity to do them and to continue to do them without being at risk. Our stations are very vulnerable. The community stations rely on community support and also on local advertising. When the economy is going bad, it's harder for them to get local advertising. That local advertising is also a service to the community. We don't want to take away the fact that we rely on our communities for some of our support, but we need additional support so that we know that, okay, we can survive, and now we can grow and do more of these things.

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Schellenberger]

Thank you.

We'll move on now.

We'll go to Madame Lavallée, please.

[Carole Lavallée, Bloc, Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair. First of all, I would like to make a brief comment to Ms. Robinson.

I was quite surprised by your suggestion that you be exempt from paying royalties, on the grounds that you are a not-for-profit organization. I must tell you that this suggestion makes me feel uncomfortable, because I sincerely believe that artists must be paid for their work, regardless of where it is exposed. I am quite concerned that, if you were ever to get such an exemption—something I hope will not happen—you would be cutting off your own oxygen supply, the content. I would suggest that you think about another way to deal with royalties.

Ms. Brabant, first and foremost, I would like to congratulate you on your appointment. We never have enough women of your calibre in key positions.

I was very pleased with your testimony. I have several questions that I am going to ask you all together. As you will see, my questions are of various kinds. You can put the focus where it suits you best.

[Some honourable members]

Ah, ah!

[Carole Lavallée, Bloc, Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC]

First of all, let us talk about your requirements and suggestions for a global digital strategy. What requirements does Telefilm Canada have? What suggestions is it making to the Canadian government? Does Telefilm Canada have everything it needs or does it require some assistance?

You said that the audiovisual sector is doing well. However, this week, Le Devoir reported that jobs in the cultural sector had been hard hit. The Institut de la statistique in Quebec showed that there had been a decline in jobs both in Quebec and Canada, specifically in the audiovisual sector.

My third question pertains to co-productions. Witnesses have told me that there is a problem with co-production. Setting two dates per year does not enable them to negotiate with international producers. They have to make these producers wait too long. For example, if a big French producer wanted to negotiate something today, you would have to tell him to wait until September. That is a problem.

You also said that the power of a good story is not enough. Earlier, during a meeting of the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology, the person sitting where you are, a professor from Alberta, said that, when you have a good story, it always works. In his opinion, the cultural industry did not need assistance. I am, of course, summarizing what he said.

Finally, you did not make any mention whatsoever of foreign ownership. Yet this is something that concerns us a great deal. What impact does foreign ownership have on the telecommunication sector—which, we are told, is becoming increasingly more difficult to dissociate from broadcasting—or satellites?

I think that you have one minute to answer these questions.

[Some honourable members]

Ah, ah!

[Carolle Brabant]

I will begin by answering the question...

[Carole Lavallée, Bloc, Saint-Bruno—Saint-Hubert, QC]

You have seen my interest.

[Carolle Brabant]

You are passionate.

First of all, I will answer your question about the comprehensive strategy. As participants who were here before me have said, in order to have a good strategy, you first need to have a vision and indicate the objectives of this strategy. In my opinion, this is what is essential in order to then be able to realign programs and resources to ensure that everybody is working in the same direction.

For me, the key in an environment that is so changeable and complex that we do not know where we are heading... We have all seen a host of changes, but the direction we take or the result of all these changes is not necessarily specific. Given that situation, it is very important that we work together, headed in the same direction. However, the strategy of establishing objectives and a direction so that we can all head the same way is extremely important.

In my comment about the power of a good story, I was not underestimating that power in any way. I think that is the key. When you look at all of the changes that have taken place in the audiovisual sector, and if we go back in time to the days of prehistoric cave drawings, we realize that we have always wanted to tell each other good stories. This is extremely important.

In such a changing universe, with distribution methods that too are changing and transforming so much, it is important that we give our producers—who are creative and inventive entrepreneurs, and who have brought the sector to the point where it is now—the tools so that they can take advantage of the opportunities provided by this environment.

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Schellenberger]

Thank you.

Mr. Del Mastro, please.

[Dean Del Mastro, Conservative, Peterborough, ON]

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

I want to thank the witnesses for appearing today.

I think this is a very important study. We're hearing some great testimony here today, as a matter of fact.

Ms. Robinson, you're the first witness to talk about radio. I think radio is true local content. One of the things that's actually coming out is that all platforms are merging. There's quite a bit of transformation going on. To your point about FM, I think that as we move forward, FM bands generally will become less of an issue because I don't think that's where people are going to listen to the radio in the future. I think it's all moving towards a converging platform. I think that's the future.

Where do you fit in, in the mix of digital platforms, and how do you see college radio or radio in general, if you feel so inclined to remark on that? How do you see that fitting into the new emerging platforms? Where do you think the opportunities are for radio? Where are the challenges?

[Shelley Robinson]

I'm going to limit my comments not to radio but to community and campus-based radio.

I think you could be right; FM might become less and less important. That being said, I think there is always going to be a need for community centres, where people can come together and produce content. I'm sure you haven't heard a lot about radio, but you probably have heard a lot about content. Basically we're all doing a version of that. You know there's this idea that with YouTube and with podcasting, why do we need community radio? We had these centres because people came there and it was because it was too expensive to have the equipment themselves.

In fact, there's that stereotype about the guy in his basement podcasting, and it's true. He's sending out something, but who is listening? When you have a community centre, that's where people can come to. I just think that where we're going is a version of where we're at, which is that we have a space where people know. It's a trusted, credible community access centre, whether or not we do it online or FM or continue to do both of those.

In terms of keeping FM, something that a lot of our smaller rural community stations are doing is emergency broadcasting, which is huge. Last year, CHLS, which is in Lillooet, got to do emergency broadcasting when the forest fire evacuations were happening.

It has happened in the States where Clear Channel bought up so many stations that people didn't know when there were emergencies in their own communities, because they were hearing a national broadcast. Our stations are grounded in their community, so whatever happens, they're going to be there to say this bridge is closed and don't go here, and all of those things. I think that's where we're going. We're not sure about what the content is, but we're sure about what we do and how we want to do it.

[Dean Del Mastro, Conservative, Peterborough, ON]

It's interesting. I couldn't agree with you more. It's the local part of radio that I think is really the draw in radio.

I can tell you, my wife had a new car with satellite radio in it, and it came with a year of free satellite radio. It was really great. You had great reception. If you drove for eight hours, you could listen to the same station. The problem was that I wasn't getting any of the local flavour of that back. I really think that's the missing component of it. I think that satellite radio will continue to struggle as long as that's the case.

Do you see an opportunity to bring that ability...? I know, for example, Apple has this with their iPhone. They have an application where you can digitally get local radio wherever you go, so you can listen to it if you're in.... In fact, I was listening to Pierre Bourque on 580 CFRA last week, and he was talking about being in Vancouver and listening to 580 CFRA. So he could keep up with what was going on in Ottawa. I mean, who doesn't want to listen to Lowell Green and the “Island of Sanity”? I think everybody would have to agree with that.

But I do think that's the missing component on satellite radio, and I think it's the opportunity for campus radio. I think the opportunity for radio is to look at these emerging platforms and be able to offer local content wherever you are.

[Shelley Robinson]

That doesn't ask us to change our model; it just asks us to maybe adapt our method of distribution. We're already doing a version of that. If we want to continue to do that, we need the funding to help make it happen--just to bring it back around.

[Dean Del Mastro, Conservative, Peterborough, ON]

Thank you very much.

For the record, there is nothing wrong with Charles Adler or John Oakley either, Mr. Chairman. I just want to make sure that's on the record.

[The Chair, Conservative, Gary Schellenberger]

It's on the record.

Thank you.

Mr. Simms, please.

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL]

You forgot to add, “I'm Dean Del Mastro and I approve this ad”.

I'm just kidding you, Dean.

CHEX is one of my favourites.

First off, I want to make a point that I am an alumnus of one of your stations.

[Shelley Robinson]

Which one?

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL]

CHMA, Mount Allison University. It actually started my career.

[Mike Wallace, Burlington, CPC]

What was your tag line for the show?

[Scott Simms, Liberal, Bonavista—Gander—Grand Falls—Windsor, NL]

“I'm six-foot-six because I'm behind the mike.”

[Voices]

Oh, oh!