Canadian Heritage Committee on Oct. 20th, 2025

[Zoe Royer, Liberal, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

I'd like to preface my question by highlighting some of the things about CBC that I really appreciate. One of them is a radio program called North by Northwest. It's a uniquely B.C program, and it also sells books. They interview local authors. They feature diverse content, indigenous content and extraordinary interviews. I know that many folks cite that program for purchasing their next book. That's one.

The next one is CBC Gem. A program that I love, whose name is similar to the last title, is North of North. It features a cast set in the fictitious Ice Cove, an Inuit village. I really, really love the push-and-pull between the characters. It's a comedy. It's excellent writing. It has an excellent cast. I think I binge-watched some of that. I have a free CBC Gem account, so I guess I would fall into one of the 5.3 million in that category.

I also know that there's a lot of content that you don't even need a free account to watch, such as Hockey Night in Canada and Power & Politics. CBC does lots of stuff.

I also want to highlight Radio-Canada in the metro Vancouver area. My husband is a municipal expert. He's a francophone. I know that he is interviewed on regional issues, such as transportation, emergency preparedness and housing, that the French-speaking community might not otherwise hear in B.C. I have a huge appreciation. CBC does a lot.

Many countries give their public broadcasters predictable multi-year funding, such as the BBC's licence fee or the per household models in democratic France and Germany. Given the volatility of annual funding, can you describe how the CBC might benefit from a statutory per capita model to strengthen its editorial independence and strategic planning?

[Marie-Philippe Bouchard]

That has been the one thing that has been lacking in our structure as a public broadcaster for decades and decades. It is the predictability—the ability to invest in people, to invest in the welfare of Canadians whom we develop as journalists, as producers, as researchers and as creators of all kinds. It's the ability to partner in a reliable way. When we enter into relationships with community media, we promise something that we sometimes can't fulfill with a long-term view because we don't know if the funding is going to be there or not. Our stability and our ability to be the actor that is transformative for all of the media sector, all of the cultural sector.... I was just talking to independent producers. A show takes three years to develop. It costs an awful lot of money. We need partners in order to be able to leverage the creativity that is in Canada. If we were able to plan multi-year, we could shore up so many independent production firms that are really struggling.

If we're talking about content for children, this is an area where, historically, independent production was extraordinary in Canada, but it has been depleted terribly, to the point where the few that remain are struggling. If we could invest in a durable way and partner with our other educational broadcaster partners, we could develop long-term views about how we finally accompany our children with content that is relevant to them, accessible to them and durable.

It would make a huge difference, and this commitment would be transformative.

[Zoe Royer, Liberal, Port Moody—Coquitlam, BC]

That's amazing.

I think we have only 30 seconds left.

Is there anything you would like to share in closing that maybe wasn't captured in a question?

[Marie-Philippe Bouchard]

Despite the trials and tribulations and the difficulties, I think I'd like to share hope. There's a lot of promise in the public broadcaster.

[The Chair, Liberal, Lisa Hepfner]

Ms. Bouchard, we want to thank you again very much for your participation today and for your fulsome answers.

I've learned a lot. There are a lot of journalists around this table, so I think you got a lot of really probing questions. We appreciate your time and thank you for responding to our request for you to come.

[Marie-Philippe Bouchard]

Thank you very much.

[The Chair, Liberal, Lisa Hepfner]

With that, I declare this meeting adjourned.