Thank you for inviting us.
As the director of the Canadian Association of Community TV Users and Stations, and with my colleague from the Fédération des télévisions communautaires autonomes du Québec, our comments chiefly concern community TV, but we have consulted closely with our community radio colleagues. Our requested amendments to Bill C‐11 are in sync.
As described in our brief, the key challenges for the “community element” are the lack of a clear definition on the one hand and a description of its role on the other. The definition of the public and private elements are self-evident: Theyʹre based on ownership. In CRTC policy, community radio is defined as not-for-profit and community owned.
The number of community radio stations has stayed steady at about 200 licensed stations and an estimated 60 indigenous ones, but community TV was traditionally managed by the private sector and has suffered as the cable industry underwent massive ownership consolidation and technical interconnection of formerly separate cable systems over the last few decades. While there were once more than 200 distinct cable community channels, there are now no more than 10% of that number. The vast majority in smaller communities have been shuttered. Those that remain in more populous parts of the country have become regional specialty channels, such as the single, province-wide Rogers TV in New Brunswick.
Amélie.