Canadian Heritage committee  If I may, sir, the bottom line from our point of view is that the fund is extremely important. It's extremely important that it work well and that it be seen to work well. We would enthusiastically work with industry, with all of the partners, in terms of evaluating its functions.

Canadian Heritage committee  Firstly, Mr. Abbott, I'd like to take this opportunity to reinforce what I said in my opening comments and praise the minister. I thought the minister acted very quickly and gave a very clear signal by putting forward the $200 million--$100 million per year for the next two years.

Canadian Heritage committee  I'm going to say something, and then I'm going to ask Richard, because he's been involved with the fund for so many years. I categorically deny and disagree with Shaw's statement that they have not been involved. They sit at the table for the CTF. They discuss these issues. They push for their positions.

Canadian Heritage committee  It's very hard for me to get into their brains as to what they want to do and why. I think it's been made very clear by the representatives of Vidéotron in particular that they may have made common cause in one respect, but they are very different in other respects as to what they're doing.

Canadian Heritage committee  It was set up by the Canadian government.

Canadian Heritage committee  We met with the minister when she made it clear she would like to talk to all the participants in the fund. I think the first meeting she had was on a Tuesday, and I met with her the next Monday to discuss our concerns. But I think the minister was trying to collect the facts, get the information.

Canadian Heritage committee  I will have to leave that to the CRTC ultimately to decide. It is a regulation of the CRTC. It would be unfortunate if they had to use the heavy hand of regulation, but it is there for them to use if they see fit. I think that's what the new chair made very clear, that we'd do it if I have to, but we didn't necessarily want to.

Canadian Heritage committee  That happens often enough, not only with Quebecor but also with certain people. There is nothing unusual about it, but the decision must be taken by Parliament and not by a private company or by the CBC. Some people think that the Broadcasting Act must be changed and that there is no need for a public broadcaster today.

Canadian Heritage committee  That is not really why they decided to play hardball. I know that mechanisms exist, particularly the CTF's board of directors, which would allow for a discussion on changing the rules and improving the situation. In fact, every year things must be changed, because our industry is constantly evolving.

Canadian Heritage committee  There is no question that if you're going to have a successful indigenous industry, the first step must be to ensure the financial stability of that industry. What the government did a couple of weeks ago, when Minister Oda announced that their $100 million contribution at least has been stabilized for two years, is an extremely important step.

Canadian Heritage committee  Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and members of the committee. We are very grateful to speak with you today about the Canadian Television Fund. I am here today with Richard Stursberg, who is the executive vice-president of CBC Television and a former chair of the board of the Canadian Television Fund; and Sylvain Lafrance, Executive Vice-President, French Services.

Canadian Heritage committee  Thank you, sir. I think we have all enjoyed it. This is the type of discussion we must have with parliamentarians and with the public. At any time you wish, we will make ourselves available. If you want to focus on one service or another, we can do that. If you want to talk with us independently, we are more than willing.

Canadian Heritage committee  I would like to circulate two sheets to the committee. One is on per capita public funding for public broadcasting for basically all countries, just so we can put it into context. On the second sheet, because on and off we ask what is a public broadcaster and what does a public broadcaster do, we've chosen BBC, ABC, RAI--I can't figure out this other one--and we look at the percentage of their schedule that goes into drama, sports, news.

Canadian Heritage committee  Monsieur Bélanger, it's something that we do on a regular basis. We have everything from focus groups to comprehensive surveys to discussions with leaders, but at the end of the day, it is the government that must decide what we should and shouldn't be doing.

Canadian Heritage committee  As you know, from time to time other bodies independent of us—because there's only so much we can do that's self-serving—have undertaken very significant surveys, and the numbers supporting the public broadcaster are extremely high. Some people want radio, some want TV, some want English, some want French.