Thank you, Mr. Gourde.
I have two points to make.
First, we have the ecosystem itself. I think that things will become harder and harder for non‑diverse media companies. However, I think that things will be easier for media that have a range of properties and capabilities. I think that Mr. Pattison showed this a long time ago in western Canada, for example. The Newcap era in the east also comes to mind. These media owners were part of a conglomerate that supported development. It isn't necessary to be part of a conglomerate, but I think that things will be harder for non-diverse companies.
I have more things to add. We're getting a bit lost here, so I'll focus on news and support for this area.
I keep saying that the news in the regions doesn't receive the necessary support. The regions have far fewer media outlets and far more media deserts. One thing to really consider is that the major urban centres receive far too much funding. When the government acts as a client, for example for advertising purposes, it always invests far too much money in the major regions, at the expense of the outer regions.
Money should be shifted, on a per capita basis, to the various regions across the country. It wouldn't cost anything. However, this isn't happening. Right now, there's too much investment in the big cities only. I have nothing against big cities. That said, they can't receive 95% of the budget.
I'll give you a concrete example. Last year, we received $16,000 in advertising from the federal government for all 18 of our radio stations. What's $16,000, you might ask? It's better to have it than to owe it, I agree. However, $16,000 for 18 stations isn't much, given that the budget was probably somewhere between $130 million and $170 million.
The government's lifestyle advertising should be aimed at all Canadians, not just a specific segment of the population. However, reaching all Canadians means venturing into the more remote regions. The web isn't the only way to do so. In some regions, people don't even have Internet access. They have only radio access. The radio signal can be picked up anywhere.
All Canadians must be included. That's the most important thing. Everyone talks about fairness, representativeness and so on. If you want to be fair and representative, you must speak to all Canadians, everywhere, on an equal basis.