Canadian Heritage Committee on Feb. 14th, 2011

[Hubert T. Lacroix]

I'm always concerned when I do not know whether that money is available to us and I get closer to March 31 and I know that my new year starts on April 1.

[Bonnie Crombie, Liberal, Mississauga—Streetsville, ON]

What is the drop-dead deadline? It's March 31, the end of the year--

[Hubert T. Lacroix]

Yes, March 31 is the end of our tax year.

[Bonnie Crombie, Liberal, Mississauga—Streetsville, ON]

It's our opinion on this side that CBC has never been more under attack than it is today, in this current environment, with this current government. Yet I think your strategic plan, as I mentioned, is rich with great ideas, local content, regional programming, and I think you should be commended for doing more with less, quite frankly, because it's simply just not realistic for you to continue to do more with less.

I also noted that you had a $58 million loss in 2010.

[Hubert T. Lacroix]

Yes.

[Bonnie Crombie, Liberal, Mississauga—Streetsville, ON]

How will you continue to be able to do more with less, and how are you going to pay for the $58 million?

[Hubert T. Lacroix]

As you know, last year, in order to balance our budget, we had to sell some of the assets we had on our balance sheet. We actually monetize receivables, and we needed to do that in order to balance our budget. We were able to net about $153 million. That is the reason you will see a balanced budget on March 31, 2011. It was part of our two-year recovery plan. We're very happy that we managed through it, and it's a great testimony to the quality of the people who work at CBC/Radio-Canada to be able to manage ourselves through our difficult situation.

[Bonnie Crombie, Liberal, Mississauga—Streetsville, ON]

But this isn't sustainable either, to continue to sell assets.

[Hubert T. Lacroix]

Obviously. So now, as this plan says, and in the comments we have made, we're constantly looking at everything we have, because technology also improves. We are trying to do less manual work. We're always trying to improve the way we can produce shows or the infrastructure we have. It's a constant, and it's normal. It's a constant situation where, with the resources we have, we need to be able to deliver this plan, and that's how we're going to get there.

[Bonnie Crombie, Liberal, Mississauga—Streetsville, ON]

Have you ever considered selling assets such as your buildings or your art, land, or archives?

[Hubert T. Lacroix]

Absolutely. Last year, when we were trying to figure out what was the best way for us, we looked at our real estate portfolio, and we continue to look at our real estate portfolio. We chose not to go that way because we thought we were not going to get the best value for Canadians. In a down market, we thought selling assets...because we have to live in those buildings, and then we would have to pay the landlord a higher rate than we normally would in a situation where you're not desperate and you need those dollars. So we thought the best value for Canadians was to monetize our receivables.

[Bonnie Crombie, Liberal, Mississauga—Streetsville, ON]

Have you had to cut services as well?

[Hubert T. Lacroix]

We did. We did a whole bunch of things last year. Our shopping list of things that we cut, either in programs or in services, is very long, on both the French and the English side.

[Bonnie Crombie, Liberal, Mississauga—Streetsville, ON]

You had to cut staff positions as well, I believe, about 800...8,000, wasn't it?

[Hubert T. Lacroix]

Eight hundred.

[Bonnie Crombie, Liberal, Mississauga—Streetsville, ON]

Eight hundred--sorry.

[Hubert T. Lacroix]

Eight hundred full-time positions were taken out of our company, yes.

[Bonnie Crombie, Liberal, Mississauga—Streetsville, ON]

What about plans to continue reducing your labour force? Would that be through attrition? How do you intend to do that?

[Hubert T. Lacroix]

In the normal course of any business our size, some departures will be managed. We have to size the broadcaster as a function of the services we render, but this plan is not about cuts. This plan is about making sure that this broadcaster is nimble and is a broadcaster of the future.

[The Chair, Conservative, Michael Chong]

Thank you very much, Monsieur Lacroix.

Monsieur Pomerleau.

[Roger Pomerleau, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I want to thank all the witnesses. The committee members are getting to know you on an almost personal level. And that is a very good thing.

You have numerous client markets in one of the largest countries in the world, and all the coverage issues that go along with that. Obviously, those markets include first nations. Nevertheless, even within each of your two major markets, francophones and anglophones, there are further distinctions. An English speaker in Blanc-Sablon is not the same as an English speaker in Toronto, and a French speaker in the Yukon is the not the same as a French speaker in Joliette. When you examine your French-speaking and English-speaking markets, do you get the sense that the Radio-Canada establishment is perceived the same way?

[Hubert T. Lacroix]

You are asking whether Canadians have the same impression of Radio-Canada as they do of CBC?

[Roger Pomerleau, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Exactly.

[Hubert T. Lacroix]

If I consider the quality of our programming and the number of people who watch CBC shows, which is higher than ever, if I look at the ratings for French radio and English radio, if I take into account the TV programming market share that Sylvain has managed to bring in for Radio-Canada, and if I consider the number of people using our Internet services, I can say that both English-speaking and French-speaking Canadians greatly appreciate CBC/Radio-Canada's services equally.

[Roger Pomerleau, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

My sense was that it was nowhere near equal, if we go back 20 years. I started watching TV in 1952, when I was 7.

Surely, your biggest problem must be figuring out where you are going to get the funding you need to do everything you want to do. Even if we assume that your government funding remains stable, it will still translate into less money when you consider that your costs will all go up, including your operating costs. It is inevitable. If we assume that your government funding remains stable and that you strengthen your presence, diversify your activities and enhance your footprint, you will still have to seek new funding to run your corporation. You mentioned the possibility of increasing your advertising revenue. How do you plan to do that?