Mr. Speaker, with regard to (a), contracts and costs associated with the development or acquisition of programming at or by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation are programming information and of a competitive nature as referred to in part III, subsection 35(2) of the Broadcasting Act.
With regard to (b), broadcasters do not “tender” contracts for the development or acquisition of programming.
Over the past five years the corporation has concluded hundreds of contracts with independent producers for program pre-development, development, pilot production, and acquisition. CBC/Radio-Canada is always looking for smart, diverse, popular and relevant Canadian programming and provides two websites for independent producers to pitch programming ideas to the corporation: http://www.cbc.ca/independentproducers/ and http://projets.radio-canada.ca/.
Decisions to develop a specific program or not depend on a number of factors, including the corporation’s broadcast conditions of licence, the region where the program would be produced, the potential appeal of the program, the cost of the program, whether it is eligible for funding support from the Canada Media Fund, and how the proposed program would fit into the network’s planned program schedule for its designated season.
CBC/Radio-Canada is authorized to “make contracts with any person, within or outside Canada, in connection with the production or presentation of programs originated or secured by the Corporation” and “make contracts with any person, within or outside Canada, for performances in connection with the programs of the Corporation", as stated in paragraphs 46(1)(d) and 46(1)(e) of part III of the Broadcasting Act.