Madam Speaker, I wish to take this opportunity to say that I too participated in the meeting to which the member for Dartmouth referred.
It is true that the members who attended took advantage of the opportunity to pass on to the president of the CBC the concerns raised by their constituents.
We had a golden opportunity as members of parliament to convey to the president of the CBC concerns that have been expressed to us about the importance of the regional aspect in CBC Radio Canada's mandate. That has been done. Today the president of CBC committed to the members of that committee to report directly to the board of CBC Radio Canada the concerns that have been voiced by a number of people but also the concerns that were voiced today by members of parliament who were reflecting comments received from constituents from all across the country.
That also points out that a decision has not been made. One can hope that the concerns expressed indeed will be reflected in whatever decision is finally made.
We cannot ignore that CBC gets some of what my hon. colleagues have called stable funding. The funding has been stabilized. This is the third year of a five year stable funding program. It was marginally increased to reflect some cost of living adjustments. It was also increased to absorb one time costs related to the Y2K concerns and so forth.
Proof that some things were working was presented to us today by the president of CBC in that radio is fine and in that French television is fine. Let us not forget Radio Canada International which has also received secure and stable funding.
All told, the focus was on English television. Despite funding problems there were things that the president wanted to do which he might do even if he got more money.