Mr. Speaker, with regard to the requested titles, all were created by independent producers. CBC purchases the rights to broadcast and stream each show for a set period of time from the independent producer, who maintains ownership of the program.
In response to (a), CBC did not take online viewing rights for Trudeau, Trudeau II: Maverick in the Making, and Prairie Giant: The Tommy Douglas Story, as these programs were produced before online streaming. Those shows were therefore never on CBC Gem or any other online CBC platforms.
In response to (b)(i), (b)(iii) and (b)(iv), CBC licensed online rights from the independent producer for Keep Your Head Up, Kid: The Don Cherry Story and Wrath of Grapes: The Don Cherry Story II. Those programs were available for online viewing by audiences until the expiry of those agreements in January 2016 and March 2019 respectively.
In response to (b)(ii), the titles enumerated in (b)(i) were funded by the former Canadian Television Fund, CTF, or the current Canada Media Fund, CMF. Pursuant to the independent producers’ agreement with the CTF/CMF, copies of these programs may have been provided to Library and Archives Canada.
In response to (b)(v) and (b)(vi), CBC/Radio-Canada is an arm’s-length Crown corporation established by the Broadcasting Act that has full freedom of expression and journalistic, creative and programming independence. We do not inform the Minister of Canadian Heritage about specific programming decisions.