Official Languages committee  It would almost be enough, because they don't make very much.

Official Languages committee  Currently, three radio stations are members of BBM and the ratings are extremely high. The radio station in Shediac, even though this is a bilingual area, has a rating of 54 per cent amongst francophones, which isn't peanuts. In Moncton, that radio station is the one that is the most listened to in the south-eastern region of New Brunswick.

Official Languages committee  On average, yes.

Official Languages committee  You must not forget that there are always minimal costs, regardless of where the station is located. There is no way around it; you have to pay for your electricity, your transmitter, telephone service, etc. There are, of course, large radio stations. For example, some stations have penetrated the market, such as Radio Beauséjour, which has 18 full-time employees.

Official Languages committee  It is not easy to answer your question, but there are basic operating costs.

Official Languages committee  It depends.

Official Languages committee  No. We said that in 2005-2006, Treasury Board approved a $71-million budget for advertising. Over the course of that same year, only $33 million was spent. Therefore, about $40 million went back to Treasury Board or was used for something else.

Official Languages committee  There are actually four committees, four stages involved in the campaign-approval process. It takes one year to approve that advertising, which is very discouraging for everyone. How much do all those committees cost, how much does it cost to ensure accountability and transparency with respect to the $33 million?

Official Languages committee  Quebec has a policy whereby 4 per cent of the province's media buys must go to community media.

Official Languages committee  Yes. We are working on that now. The calculation is not based on any scientific or statistical method.

Official Languages committee  If it is easy and provides the same results, then we don't have a problem with it. We are not looking for 5 per cent of $60 million or $70 million of a comprehensive advertising budget, that is not our aim. Whatever the number is, we would agree to having a percentage-based formula.

Official Languages committee  About 65 per cent of the radio revenue comes from local advertising, 5 to 10 per cent from national advertising and the rest, about 30 per cent, comes from fundraising. Operations subsidies are practically non-existent. Only one radio station currently benefits from a Canada-Community agreement and receives a given amount.

Official Languages committee  Yes. In some provinces, the amount is much lower, but in Ontario, the percentage is quite high. New Brunswick provides a small amount. That is part of the funding diversification that we spoke of earlier. Without that, community radio stations could not survive.

Official Languages committee  It was introduced about 12 or 15 years ago, when Mr. Parizeau was the premier. Even with this 4 per cent policy, and despite supporting statistics, community radio stations and media in Quebec do not obtain that amount, because it is a difficult concept for the planning agencies to grasp.

Official Languages committee  It costs about as much to operate a community station as it does to operate a private station, but there is absolutely no comparison to a government station, which is on another level altogether. In our stations, the same person can be a technician, a host, a researcher and a producer.