Canadian Heritage Committee on Jan. 30th, 2024

[Barbara Williams]

Thank you.

We do have many lines of business at the CBC that are very successful. I'll highlight a few.

Gem for sure is a powerful streaming service for us. What makes it distinctive is that not just the entertainment side of CBC is streaming on Gem, but all of our news is also streaming on Gem. Our local news and our national news are streaming on Gem, and we are continuing to experiment with putting more content up there. Sometimes now our radio and other audio offerings are on Gem, so it's becoming a full, inclusive service for all CBC programming for those who prefer to get their content through a stream.

We are also having huge success with podcasts. Those are a burgeoning business for us. We are world leaders in podcasts, with everything from our daily Front Burner through to international co-productions that we've done with other public broadcasters around the world. Every month there are 20 million downloads of CBC podcasts. It's huge. People are finding those on our CBC Listen app, which is another one of the audio streaming platforms on which people are discovering their content.

A lot of our radio, which is so powerful for CBC, is really being consumed on the CBC Listen app now, not on the transistor radio on your kitchen counter anymore, and it is still very much enjoyed as a powerful piece of the content offering from CBC.

We are making sure that we are growing locally, because the local proximity piece that Catherine referenced is so critical. Just this week we announced seven brand new local podcasts that will be offered from local communities that maybe don't have as much specific local information for themselves. These local podcasts will be driving that initiative.

It's all about meeting audiences where they are and giving them the kind of content they expect on the platforms they're now using. CBC, to an earlier point, is absolutely a growing, relevant service for more and more Canadians all the time.

My last point is on the emergency service piece we offer when there's a flood, a fire or a huge storm. There's nothing like CBC to ensure that people are getting the accurate information they need in the moment. Radio is still one of the most prominent services we can offer to support Canadians in their times of need.

[Taleeb Noormohamed, Liberal, Vancouver Granville, BC]

Thank you.

I want to switch gears a little bit.

I think a lot of assertions have been made about how bonuses are paid and how people are appointed. I think there's a desire to politicize the CBC and there's a desire on the part of some to make it seem as though the hands of government get to decide what the CBC does.

When it comes to something like a GIC appointment that involves the CBC, is that a political process or is that managed by the bureaucracy itself?

[Catherine Tait]

In the case of my appointment, I am the only GIC appointment at CBC/Radio-Canada, and I was appointed in a merit-based process by an independent committee that was assembled. By the way, such a committee is being assembled now to identify the person who will replace me.

I competed for the job along with probably many others from the industry. The recommendation from that committee was made to the government.

[Taleeb Noormohamed, Liberal, Vancouver Granville, BC]

Just for [Inaudible—Editor] of that, you weren't sitting in some smoky backroom and a minister came up to you and said, “Hey, Catherine, we're going to offer you this job if you do A, B and C on the part of the government.”

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

You have 15 seconds, Mr. Noormohamed.

[Catherine Tait]

No.

[Taleeb Noormohamed, Liberal, Vancouver Granville, BC]

No. This was a merit-based process. You were chosen independently, and no one from the government just plopped you into this role. Is that correct?

[Catherine Tait]

Absolutely not.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you very much.

Now I'll go to Martin for two and a half minutes.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I want to talk about something completely different, Ms. Tait. CBC/Radio-Canada's mandate is about to be put back on the table for review. Your term ends less than a year from now. The review will be extremely important work, and it will probably be difficult as well.

What should those who will be called upon to review CBC/Radio-Canada's mandate in the current context pay the most attention to?

[Catherine Tait]

That's a huge question, of course.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Unfortunately, we only have two minutes.

[Catherine Tait]

If there's one thing that I think absolutely needs to be looked at, it's our public broadcaster's business model. Do we want a well-funded public broadcaster? Are we prepared to invest in a service that's so essential to the future of democracy in the country? That's the question. Do Canadians want to invest in this public broadcaster?

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

I'm a big supporter of the public broadcaster. I believe in robust and diverse news. In commentary as well, I'd like to see opinions representing the entire social and political spectrum in Quebec and Canada.

Apart from funding, in terms of the mandate itself, the obligations and the responsibility of CBC/Radio-Canada as a public broadcaster, what points should be focused on? Some things may have changed since the mandate was last reviewed.

[Catherine Tait]

In my opinion, CBC/Radio-Canada's mandate is completely justified, like that of all public broadcasters. It is to inform, enlighten and entertain Canadians. I don't think the mandate should be changed per se.

I think the role of the public broadcaster as a driver of innovation is very important. We've demonstrated this at Maison de Radio-Canada, where we've integrated a system based on an IP protocol. We were the first broadcaster in the world to have that kind of system. So that's a very important factor.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

I have one last quick question. I know that my Conservative friends may not agree and will raise their eyebrows at the question, but do you think CBC/Radio-Canada should have more public funding and drop its sources of advertising revenue?

[Catherine Tait]

I agree with the first part of your statement.

We have to look at the role of Radio-Canada vis-à-vis advertisers, especially in the Quebec market. Radio-Canada plays a key role in the Quebec economy. So before we give up advertising revenue, we need to look at the impact on the market.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you, Martin.

Peter, you have two and a half minutes, please.

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Thank you.

I spoke in my opening statement about the quality of CBC journalism. Certainly, something I've experienced across the country is there is a remarkable level of professionalism of CBC journalists. There have been hundreds of awards, both domestically and internationally.

My Conservative colleagues, who want to basically kill everything that's not from the far right, have suggested that 100 corrections is excessive. How many reports, articles and stories would you do in the course of a year?

[Barbara Williams]

Hundreds of thousands.

[Catherine Tait]

Hundreds of thousands—it's on all platforms.

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Yes.

[Catherine Tait]

Don't forget—we're reporting on radio, television, digital....

[Peter Julian, NDP, New Westminster—Burnaby, BC]

Is 100 corrections a valid number of the hundreds of thousands of different reports that are issued?

[Catherine Tait]

I'm not sure where the “100 corrections” came from, so honestly I can't say whether that's a correct number, but I would say the number of corrections is not an outrageous one.