Mr. Speaker, thank you very much for the guidance on the amount of time that is left. I do appreciate it. I will say a few things and then there might be an opportunity for questions and comments. I will play it by ear, depending on how animated I get in the discussion today.
I am kind of disappointed in the opposition parties today. One of the reasons I am disappointed is that there is a responsibility to remember that we live in the 21st century, not 1950. I heard a lot of opposition members refer to television shows that families watched back in 1950 and 1960, but the last time I looked at my calendar, it was 2014.
The world in broadcasting radio and TV has dramatically changed. A few members on this side of the House know quite a bit about that, and they have spoken very eloquently about the fact that our radio and television system has dramatically changed.
We have hundreds of channels that people can watch on their TVs. Canadians are choosing what they want to watch in many different ways and for many different reasons. We have excellent coverage of services throughout all of Canada, including northern and rural parts of Canada, which even a few years ago did not have great services. Many of those communities have excellent services today, with a lot of options.
However, we are talking specifically about the CBC/Radio-Canada today. It is an organization of which I am proud and it has been strongly supported by this government since we came into office in 2006. In fact, we recognize the excellent contributions the CBC, as our national public broadcaster, makes in Canadian society. We know that some remote aboriginal and official language minority communities rely on the CBC for their main way of having television and radio communicated to them. We respect that and we have continued to support that as a government.
The CBC is mandated to inform, enlighten, and entertain Canadian audiences and to offer distinctively Canadian programming that contributes to the exchange and flow of cultural expression. That programming is expected to reflect Canada and all its regions to national and regional audiences, while serving the needs of the regions.
The CBC must strive to produce the programming that is of equal quality in English and French, as well as reflect the different needs of official language communities and English and French linguistic minorities. As well, CBC/Radio-Canada is mandated to reflect the multicultural and multinational nature of Canada while contributing to a shared consciousness and identity.
The Broadcasting Act guarantees the CBC a degree of independence freedom as an arm's-length Crown corporation. This guarantee is based on the significance and importance of journalistic freedom in our democracy. Our government continues to work with the CBC in a manner that respects these independence principles and allows it to fulfill its cultural mandate.
The recent situation at the CBC is due to business decisions made by the corporation. It receives substantial funding to meet its mandate under the Broadcasting Act, and it is up to the CBC to provide programming in French and English that Canadians want. The choices in programs and services are made independently from government involvement.
Each year we provide financial support to the CBC totalling more than $1 billion to deliver on its mandate and its core services. It is an incredibly significant amount of federal funding. In fact, it is the most funding that we provide to any federal cultural or heritage crown corporation.
CBC/Radio-Canada is facing the same challenges as many other broadcasters: fragmentation of audiences, new content consumption methods, increased competition, and the list goes on. All broadcasters are striving to adapt to this constantly changing new reality. Large groups are being formed, new strategies are being tested, and broadcasters are looking for new ways to keep audiences. CBC/Radio-Canada is no exception, and must produce programming that Canadians actually want to watch.
With respect to the opposition motion, it does fly in the face of some of the experts who have commented on the current status.
Alex Levasseur, president of the Syndicat des communications de Radio-Canada, said that any eventual cuts will not be the result of a federal action.
France Belisle, who is the director of communications and public relations for CBC/Radio-Canada, said:
The problem is the advertising market, which is in decline.
These are realities that the CBC, like other broadcasters throughout North America and the world, is now facing. These are decisions that need to be made to ensure the long-term viability of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
I believe I will be the last speaker on this topic, so before I sit down I just want to reiterate that all families in Canada cherish the CBC. We each have individual programs and services that we enjoy. To make sure that the CBC continues to be viable for the long term, there are structural changes and decisions that it will have to make, but this government stands with the CBC. We stand with public support in financing the CBC, and we wish the CBC 100 more years of success in this great country of Canada.