The fund has now been in operation for three years. As I've mentioned, Canadians really value local television for what it is: it is local and brings to the news what is happening in your local area. We've heard that over and over in our hearings. Yet when you run a television network, you find that it is very expensive and isn't self-financing. Therefore, you try to commoditize it: you try to have general news for a whole region or the whole country, rather than just local news in one locale.
We decided, since this is key for local television and obviously isn't self-financing, that we should make sure that it is improved, that there should be sufficient money. It starts with such things as having decent equipment, having enough reporters, being on the scene, and doing a professional job—not with a more or less amateur video camera, etc.
We had a hearing to examine how much it should be. We first set it at 1% and then we set it at 1.5%. We decided it can only be for the small markets, i.e., the markets that really don't have the size to support themselves in both English and French. We have a formula whereby you have to prove your eligibility: you in effect have so many hours of local newscast in that region and redistribute it. It is a fund that is operated by a law firm.
The question now becomes, has it been successful? It's $100 million per year, which we have provided for three years now. Have we had the desired effect? Has the local programming stabilized? Has it met with receptivity on the part of the viewers? Has there been increased viewership? Is it appreciated? Have some of the local stories that otherwise don't get reported been picked up and broadcast nationally?
As Mr. Del Mastro pointed out, there are two sides. One side thinks it's too little, that we need more. The other one says you don't need it at all; get rid of it. So we said, let's have a review in the spring of 2012 after three years' experience. We'll have a public hearing at which both sides will come forward. Then on the basis of the information we gather and the evidence presented before us, we will decide what to do.