Official Languages Committee on Nov. 25th, 2025

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Mr. Beaulieu, excuse me, but your time is up. Thank you.

We will now move on to the second round.

Mr. Dalton, you have the floor for five minutes.

[Marc Dalton, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Witnesses, I thank you very much for your comments and your efforts to support the French language in Acadia. You also represent radio stations from all over Canada, which are really important for cities like Vancouver, where the francophone community is not as visible as other communities, particularly the Chinese community. We are there, but we’re a bit scattered. Being able to listen to music in French is really important for the vitality of the language. It’s important not only for francophones, but also for francophiles and for many immersion students. Thank you for that.

You have already talked a bit about the internet. I have an app here that shows all the radio stations in the world, even those from New Brunswick or Nova Scotia. I can press a button to listen to your stations from anywhere in the world. In my opinion, it’s positive and it can also be competitive. Is that true? Can you talk a little more about that?

[Pier-Luc Brousseau]

It’s something we’ve already explored and presented in different models.

What has held us back in the past has always been the cost of development and maintenance. We talked about it in response to other questions earlier. If we have a one‑time project to create these applications, it works very well for the year, the 18 months or the 24 months that the project lasts. However, after that, it’s not that it gets lost, but on the other hand, as I mentioned earlier, we need to ensure maintenance and continue to provide the content. It’s not just a matter of putting our streams online so people can listen to our radio from just about anywhere. It’s already possible through our various partners, and also via the website nosradios.ca. It is indeed possible to listen to our stations if the effort is put in.

This type of app exists in France. A developer friend of ours created it. All stations, not just community ones, are available on the same app. A person who wants to listen to the station from their area can go directly to the app. On the other hand, when we get into the details of what it required from a technical standpoint for maintenance and management, among other things, that’s where our community stations can no longer be competitive.

[Marc Dalton, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

Are you struggling a bit to attract listeners, because they can go anywhere? Do you see that in terms of your clients?

[Pier-Luc Brousseau]

A great battle is being fought to gain the public’s attention in response to social media. Radio is no different from television or even newspapers and competes to attract people’s attention. It’s an old joke, but we listen to everything in 140 characters today. You know it better than all of us: We are in the era of catchy sound bites and everything relies on that.

The current challenge is to keep shows on air that, especially in Acadia, have made their mark and remain daily appointments. We have one of the only radio stations that still does a talk show every day. People—whether they’re MPs or community members—go to the studio to participate in the show Parle Parle Jase Jase at CJSE, and answer questions from the public. It’s a call‑in forum of which there aren’t many left, because people don’t do that anymore and don’t listen to that anymore. However, there are still some here and there. It’s a matter of attention, but it’s mainly about saying that our content is worth listening to and attracts an audience.

For the rest, the model must continue to be replicated everywhere and those small audiences interested in the content need to be found.

[Marc Dalton, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

How many employees do you have among the different radio stations?

[Pier-Luc Brousseau]

Our largest station has 12 employees. As I mentioned earlier in response to a question, our smallest stations have only 3 employees. So, it varies between 3 and 12 people. If I do a quick calculation for you, given the little time we have left, that comes to about 100 employees for the entire network of stations in the Association des radios communautaires acadiennes du Nouveau-Brunswick.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

You have 20 seconds left.

[Marc Dalton, Conservative, Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge, BC]

When I was between 14 and 15 years old, I was a host at a radio station in Chibougamau. I wasn’t paid much. I could buy records—not compact discs—for about $3 back then.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

That’s very impressive. I’m glad you had another 20 seconds to recount that.

I now give the floor to Ms. Chenette for five minutes.

[Madeleine Chenette, Liberal, Thérèse-De Blainville, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Witnesses, thank you for being here. As another anecdote, I also did community radio back when I was in college with a group that included Michel Jean, who later became one of our big stars. So it’s also a new generation being created thanks to community radio. I didn’t decide to be a star, for my part.

I’ll continue with what you said about the evolution of the audience. Some people believe that it’s better to listen to what’s done elsewhere because it’s better than what we do here. Others listen to people who call themselves broadcasters and who put themselves in the spotlight on social media. So it’s direct competition that didn’t exist for community radio stations.

Mr. Brousseau, I congratulate you on the success stories you share with us and for your growth. Based on your experience, what else should be done to engage the audience? Is there not currently a momentum related to our pride in being Canadians and francophones and the fact that our two official languages are essential to our economy and growth? What should we emphasize to take advantage of this swing back?

[Pier-Luc Brousseau]

We can already see it in competitions like Accros de la chanson in New Brunswick, which is taking a break this year. It’s organized by the Fédération des jeunes francophones du Nouveau‑Brunswick, a long‑standing partner of community radio stations and ARCANB. Every year, high school music groups participate in this competition and, in the end, record an album. I’m not just talking about the winners, but about all the participants. These records are then played by community radio stations, and it helps nurture the next generation.

In my remarks, I mentioned the group Écarlate, which is currently touring Canada, particularly as part of the Réseau atlantique de diffusion des arts de la scène tours. That group was born from the Accros de la chanson competition, like others that have gone through it. These are the kinds of things that help rejuvenate and expand our audiences.

One of the best things we managed to do, not only during the pandemic but afterward, is to establish various agreements with schools across all our regions. Our hosts went to the region and, while meeting with students, they asked them to share their favourite Acadian song. Many chose songs by P’tit Belliveau or the group 1755, proof that parents seemed to listen to a bit of everything. Later on, parents and grandparents started calling the radio stations to ask when Louis’s song, for example, would play because they wanted to hear it. It created a kind of renewal in the content. It was no longer just about the music; they wanted to hear each other and hear the people from their own community. These are things that may seem very small, but when multiplied, they can have large‑scale effects.

To answer your question, it’s about finding ways to keep our audiences engaged in our communities while raising their awareness that we need them to participate in our various activities and consume our different content, because ultimately, we exist for them. That’s the difference.

[Madeleine Chenette, Liberal, Thérèse-De Blainville, QC]

Mr. Béland, I will continue along the same lines.

The current strategy is to invest in CBC/Radio-Canada to ensure a critical mass of proud francophones in Canada, but communities also have a role to play. They must mobilize the private sector so as to create demand on both sides, in order to maintain the supply of French‑language content.

In this context, the francophonie is important, but there’s a difference between the Canadian francophonie and francophonie in general. When it comes to Canadian content, should we stop being interested in the francophonie in the broadest sense of the term, and should we strengthen the Canadian francophonie and Canadian content, just like Canadian content on the English side? What are the advantages and disadvantages?

[Louis Béland]

That’s a big question.

The role of community radio stations is different, as I mentioned earlier. They have very close ties to the community. By definition, the content created and promoted by community radio stations reflects 100% of the Canadian francophonie. When it can be amplified, it has enormous power. I would like to see tools to amplify that francophonie, which is 100% local.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Thank you very much, gentlemen.

Thank you, Ms. Chenette.

I now give the floor to Mr. Beaulieu for two and a half minutes.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

It’s said that the tax on digital giants would have brought in about $1.2 billion per year. Would it have helped to fund community media as well?

[Louis Béland]

Yes.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

So, the decision not to implement that tax has had repercussions for you, and for all private and community media, hasn’t it?

[Louis Béland]

Yes, but it’s just one tool among many others.

I can also mention the agreement reached with Google to compensate the loss of advertising revenue related to journalistic articles for five years. It’s another mechanism that, despite the challenges, helps our stations. I don’t think there’s a magic tool in all of this. It’s a combination of these different tools that can support the media.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

When Mr. Carney decided not to impose this tax to please Mr. Trump, it had no effect and the tariffs were increased even more. Has he taken steps to compensate you?

[Louis Béland]

No, but according to my understanding, that program was not particularly developed. We didn’t really know how the revenue from that tax would actually reach our stations. So, its elimination potentially meant less for us.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

In short, what’s the main challenge for you? You say your survival is threatened. What could help you the most to grow? Would it be more funding?

[Pier-Luc Brousseau]

We don’t need additional funding as much as a more flexible framework to access existing funding to meet needs other than those tied to liquidity or journalists, for example to fill a management position.

[Mario Beaulieu, Bloc, La Pointe-de-l'Île, QC]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Yvan Baker]

Thank you very much, Mr. Beaulieu.

Mr. Bélanger, you have the floor for five minutes.