I think it's important that you specify that. You know that in the past I have referred to the CRTC as the black hole of accountability and transparency for all issues. We ask simple questions and we never get an answer. I'm glad you clarified it. It's not the CRTC that's the black hole of accountability; it's the private broadcasters who are refusing to give up the most basic information.
I'd like to ask you about a letter you sent on June 20, 2011, regarding the question about the LPIF fund, which Canadian taxpayers have paid into. We should be able to find out if local television stations are using it and how many are using it. You wrote, in response, that those records were not being handed out pursuant to section 25 of the act. And if I heard you correctly, you said that the CBC and Rogers did not have a problem with giving up information on the LPIF, but the other private broadcasters refused.
I'm not accusing you of not being transparent, but it seems a fairly straightforward question. If Canadians are paying millions of dollars to keep the bottom line of a private broadcaster alive...? We have had questions on this. My good friend Mr. Del Mastro and I have raised questions in the past. We're not helping the bottom line of a company that doesn't want to invest in local programming. If the taxpayers pay the full freight, the taxpayers should know.
Are you saying that the private broadcasters would force the public to go to Federal Court to find out information about how taxpayer dollars are being spent?