On behalf of the Tous amis de Radio-Canada organization, I'd like to thank the committee for the opportunity to contribute to the discussion on funding for Canada's public broadcaster.
Established by the Syndicat des communications de Radio-Canada and supported by the CSN and the FNC, Tous amis de Radio-Canada is appearing before the committee as a member of Canadian civil society and as a spokesperson for its members.
During the recent election campaign, three issues of particular concern to us received a lot of attention. The first had to do with improving democratic practices to encourage citizen engagement beyond the simple act of voting. The second involved clear commitments with respect to Canada's economic recovery, with major investments in not just infrastructure but also culture being promised. And the third and final issue was about restoring the funding CBC/Radio-Canada had been deprived of in recent years, a pledge made by most of the candidates.
Our only national broadcaster and producer is at the heart of all three of those issues, and the budget should reflect that.
The media provide a conduit for effective democratic life, social cohesion and the reflection of Canadian diversity. We cannot turn a blind eye to the challenges facing the media industry in today's world: the growing number of broadcasting platforms, the overhaul of media companies, the dangerous drop in revenues and the increasingly precarious survival of a number of major industry players.
Against that backdrop, CBC/Radio-Canada ought to be a beacon safeguarding the presence and vitality of the fourth estate in every single region of the country, east to west, north to south, in English, in French and in the eight aboriginal languages.
In 2013-14, CBC/Radio-Canada received some $976 million from Parliament. Public funding represents 63% of CBC/Radio-Canada's operating revenue. But, between 1990-91 and 2013-14, the public broadcaster's parliamentary appropriations increased by just 0.5% in today's dollars, while government spending jumped by 74% and the consumer price index rose by 51%. Had those parliamentary appropriations simply been indexed annually, CBC/Radio-Canada would have received around $1.6 billion in 2013-14, a massive $547-million difference.
In addition, the local program improvement fund was eliminated, depriving CBC/Radio-Canada of another $33.1 million annually.
CBC/Radio-Canada's inadequate public funding forced the crown corporation to look to advertising revenue to make up for the shortfall. That approach has had what many would call negative consequences, as far as competing with the private sector is concerned, particularly on the type of programming the public broadcaster has to provide in order to bring in those advertising dollars. Ultimately, advertisers are increasingly turning to new platforms to pitch their products, gradually moving away from the traditional medium of television. And that is threatening not just CBC/Radio-Canada, but also private broadcasters.
In 2011, Canada ranked 16th out of 18 major western countries when it came to per capita funding for its public broadcaster. At $33 per capita, Canada's public broadcasting funding was 60% lower than the average, which stood at $82 per inhabitant. And now, after the most recent cutbacks, Canada contributes just $29 per capita to its public broadcaster.
It is our duty to build a wealth of high-quality cultural assets and intellectual property for both Canadians and people around the world. Despite the fact that the public broadcaster is supposed to be a model of technological innovation and quality content creation, the participation and endeavours of Canadian artists and craftspeople are unfortunately at risk. In 2008-09, CBC/Radio-Canada employed 8,368 people, and in 2014-15, the crown corporation had slashed its workforce to just 6,739 staff, representing a loss of more than 1,600 jobs, or 20%.
In 2013, Deloitte estimated CBC/Radio-Canada's gross value added contribution to the Canadian economy at $3.56 billion, arising from an expenditure of $1.69 billion with a spend-weighted multiplier of 2.11. Clearly, then, investments in public television generate huge economic spinoff.
Something else the government needs to think about is companies' use of our technological infrastructure to reach Canadian users without paying a cent in taxes or contributing to the system's funding. The numbers are impressive and could generate so much in levies that the government could finally provide adequate funding to its public broadcaster, not to mention the country's private broadcasters.
Until a real strategy is put in place to compel content broadcasters like Netflix to contribute their fair share, it is crucial that the public broadcaster be given the financial resources it needs to fulfill its mandate without being forced into direct competition with private television broadcasters when it comes to content and advertising dollars.
In our view, a $150-million reinvestment is the bare minimum that CBC/Radio-Canada needs to help make up for the financial decisions that have been imposed on the crown corporation for the past 20 years. Its capacity to enrich Canadian society depends on it.
Thank you.
I would be pleased to answer any questions you have.