Thank you, Chair.
In Canada, there are more than 235 community, indigenous and campus licensed radio stations. They're all run by a community board. They regularly provide local news and information. In fact, they have to do so by licence. They are all not-for-profit organizations, so every single dollar they receive is reinvested in the communities they serve.
Recently passed amendments to the Broadcasting Act define the critical role they play in these communities by stating that they are uniquely “positioned to serve smaller and remote communities.” They serve “different needs and circumstances of each official language community” and, importantly in this day and age, they “support local journalism” and “strengthen the democratic process”.
These stations are the last to serve rural Canada and underserved urban communities. They broadcast content in over 65 languages spoken by Canadians, including dozens of indigenous languages. They are the home of original Canadian music and arts.
They consistently provide accurate and immediate coverage of civic news information to local communities, and as such, they really are the last line of defence against disinformation.
They are critical to Canadians in times of emergency. As we saw wildfires ravaging communities throughout B.C., Nova Scotia, Quebec and the territories all summer long, community radio stations provided critical and immediate local information to Shelburne County in Nova Scotia, to Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories and to Smithers, British Columbia—just to name a few—whose residents benefit from local journalism initiative reporters, with funding distributed by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.
They helped guide evacuations. They provided details on which stores were open and when the power was coming back. Most importantly, they gave people the information they needed to get home. The importance was amplified by Facebook's blocking of local news outlets. These stations were livestreaming and on air the whole time, and in these communities—MP Bachrach, you'll know what I'm talking about—a radio receiver and batteries are part of any emergency kit.
One difference between community broadcasters and commercial and public broadcasters is the funding they receive. As not-for-profits, community broadcasters don't benefit from the tax credits offered to commercial broadcasters, nor do they receive any federal operational funding like the CBC does. However, they continue to play critical roles for Canadians.
Therefore, we propose three critical priorities.
The first is to continue the local journalism initiative. We regularly hear about commercial broadcasters closing stations and about newspapers shutting down. This year, the LJI has allowed us at the CRFC to give salaries to more than 53 stations to hire journalists to produce civic journalism for underserved communities, including more than seven indigenous communities. More than 450 journalists are hired annually by all administrative organizations, but the LJI is slated to end next March. The program must be renewed and enhanced.
Second, we propose the community radio initiative, costing less than $25 million per year. It's not much in the context of a federal budget, but it would represent a paradigm shift for community broadcasters. This would provide key operational supports focused on labour costs and technical upgrades.
The CRTC is currently conducting a review of indigenous broadcasters. In the CRTC's initial report, the single most important element that these broadcasters need is operational support, and this is true of all community radio stations.
The reality of Quebec stations is different, because they receive provincial funding. In Quebec, the use of volunteers is less frequent, and staff are paid a decent salary. The number of stations there is also much higher than in the rest of Canada. This is in part due to support funding and other local initiatives.
In Australia, for example, they provide as much as $21 million to community radio. The result is that, in a country with two-thirds our population, there are nearly twice as many community radio stations. Minimal support makes a maximal difference.
Finally, we're asking the government to give a portion of the advertising that it previously gave to Facebook and other social media giants to Canadian community news outlets. Enough of sending taxpayer dollars to Silicon Valley—we are asking the government to spend 8% of the more than $140-million advertising budget on community media. This will ensure that advertising is heard and seen by Canadians and that the money goes to support our system.
We're pleased to see the government withdraw those funds from Facebook after it initiated an attack on our local media, and now we're asking that this money be redirected to radio stations that continue to put local communities and reliable news first.
Thank you for considering these suggestions. They will make a significant impact on Canadians' access to local news and information.
I'm more than happy to take your questions in either French or English.