That's an excellent question.
We heard about this issue during the consultations on the debates.
I would like to point out that, when we were in Halifax, for example, people from the French-speaking minority community told us that, during the last election, they didn't have access to the leaders' debates in French in Nova Scotia.
These types of comments helped us confirm the importance of ensuring that everyone, no matter their location in the country or official language, has access to the debates. This includes people who live in rural and remote areas.
We've asked the commissioner to ensure that the debates are available to everyone. The commissioner will decide how this mandate will be implemented. However, we've given the commissioner a tool by ensuring that the debates can be broadcast for free by any broadcaster, including traditional broadcasters and new media. The broadcasters will be able to access and broadcast the debates for free over the radio, on television, through the Internet or in newspapers. We must ensure that everyone has free access to the debates.