Thank you, Madam Chair.
Thank you to our witnesses for being with us today.
Ms. Bouchard, I want to begin by setting the tone for my questions. You will be popular this morning. I have a deep respect for the work of the CBC. I believe in its mission. I believe in the integrity and good faith of the people who work within it, and I believe its role is more important now than ever.
As Canada's national broadcaster, you carry a unique responsibility, one that comes with heightened expectations around transparency, credibility and public trust. You are asked to do more than most, often with fewer resources than your international counterparts.
The nature of my questions today is to reflect concerns and perspectives that have been raised throughout this committee's proceedings. Some of these do not reflect my personal views, but I think it's important that they be addressed directly and on the record.
I'll admit that you've beaten me to my first question on the idea that the CBC could play a greater role in sharing its infrastructure—that is, equipment, facilities and other resources—with smaller outlets when appropriate, so instead I will ask this: We've heard concerns that the CBC operates at times as though it is competing directly with private sector news organizations. How do you view the CBC's role within the broader media ecosystem, and do you, in fact, see yourselves as competitors to other outlets or as complementary to them?