The fact that community media play such a specific role and the fact that their situation is also unique are two reasons why they cannot be evaluated in the same way as the performance of other media would be evaluated. We must take their specific situation into consideration and come up with solutions that help address their specific challenges.
The third idea I would like to discuss is the idea of a comparative analysis between languages. When a new media policy or program is introduced, we must consider whether the effects of that policy or program are the same for the francophone as for the anglophone media or whether they are the same for the majority as for the minority media.
For example, the Canada Periodical Fund, which provided financial assistance to media organizations in the form of a Canada Post discount on newspaper delivery, has changed its criteria in recent years to include other periodicals that are not necessarily delivered by Canada Post.
Basically, we could say it is good to subsidize the media to a greater degree, but this change has had a specific negatively differentiating effect on minority francophone periodicals. If a comparative analysis had been conducted based on language, it might have been apparent that this measure benefited a number of English-language Quebec publications to the detriment of francophone minority publications that urgently needed funding, a need that could not be compared to those of the other media. Theoretically, of course, it is not a bad thing to fund other media, but this is an example of a policy that has a significant negatively differentiated impact on minority media.
One government idea circulated widely in the media was that businesses with non-viable business models should not be supported. I think that idea refers to the digital shift. In the community media world, everyone agrees that media organizations must move to digital technology, and everyone has begun that shift, although not everyone is able to do so successfully for the simple reason that very few organizations make money based on that model and do not necessarily have the resources to do so.
Furthermore, in many instances, the readership in minority communities does not follow the shift. Either readers are older or uninterested in digital technology or else they live in places where high-speed Internet access is unavailable.
The decision to fund media organizations that have previously demonstrated their ability to make a successful shift to the Internet would not reflect the specific situation of those media organizations and would not be consistent with the Official Languages Act or the principle of genuine equality. Instead of funding media that have already been successful in making that shift, we should instead fund all minority media businesses so they can do the same. This would help ensure that the government enhances the vitality and supports the development of francophone minority communities in a manner consistent with the Official Languages Act.
Here's another example. When the government decides to concentrate federal online advertising sales, in addition to the fact that it doesn't take into account the impact of its decision on the vitality of the media, it seems to overlook the fact that those media organizations actually reach populations. Consider the example of announcements made in recent years concerning the H1N1 flu. What group is at the greatest risk of catching that flu? Probably the elderly. People think they will advertise online because it will help them reach more people. You may indeed be reaching more people online—I don't know the figures—but you may not have reached the right population. Consequently, we must not forget that these community media organizations reach populations that we cannot simply disregard because they are not part of the majority.
I will stop there. Thank you.