Canadian Heritage committee  We have prepared those types of fact sheets, sir, and we will clarify them and send them to the committee to be circulated. And we, as individuals or together--and this is an offer to all members of the committee--and perhaps my chief financial officer, if you wish, at any time are ready to sit down and talk about those numbers and how those numbers come together.

Canadian Heritage committee  The CRTC is holding a TV policy hearing and they've asked for submissions from the public, from the broadcasters, and today is the deadline for those submissions. They highlighted certain particular points, one of which was HD and the move to HD. Another was how to ensure that there is more drama in the system.

Canadian Heritage committee  With respect to your second question, it would be grossly unfair, I think, to say that the problems we have in terms of bringing in new talent and new programming people are due to the union structure and the union contract. The problems we have are due to a company that has been shrinking for the last twenty years in terms of number of employees, amount of money it has, and it's only right and fair that union contracts be written to protect existing employees.

Canadian Heritage committee  I'll start, but I'd like Jane to talk to you about the afternoon shows, because we have been experimenting with different combinations. Some work for some people, and some don't work, but it has historically been a drop-off in the CBC. The morning goes up, plateaus, comes down, and it comes back up again with—for lack of a better term—the “rolling home” shows.

Canadian Heritage committee  As I mentioned when we started, the mandate is very broad and a mandate review would be very helpful, given the new environment, in terms of focusing on what Canadians want us to do. I should note, to start with, that the drop from 13% to 6.5% is now approximately 7%. If I look at my...I shouldn't even call them competitors, because we are different, but we are conventional broadcasters.

Canadian Heritage committee  If there are areas with no reception, that must be corrected.

Canadian Heritage committee  Well, you can, sir, gauge the success of a program, because you look at it. You do full mock-ups. You run the show and you look at it and you say that this show is not different enough, not unique enough, and we are not ready to put the money in to go the next step. You have to do things in stages, and you conclude in analysis, in looking at it, that you don't have a product that's going to work.

Canadian Heritage committee  I would say the one in Newfoundland is a success and is developing. The other two did not work out very well.

Canadian Heritage committee  No; we never got beyond the mock-up stage--in other words, trying to put together shows we thought would be different and distinct. We worked in both markets with the people, and we never were satisfied that we had made the progress necessary to have a distinctive, different type of show.

Canadian Heritage committee  In our case--because I think we have to start with the understanding that the private sector does this very well--we had to ask ourselves what is distinct, what is different, what the holes are, and what type of programming we could do that would be different and would meet a public service mandate.

Canadian Heritage committee  We will do reality TV, and I think it's important that we do some. I think it has to have redeeming graces and reasons. It's a perfect opportunity for me to throw the ball to Richard, to give you a more elaborate answer.

Canadian Heritage committee  I speak from time to time with the minister. It is not normal for the president of the CBC to speak regularly with the minister, as we are an arm's-length independent agency. I do speak to the deputy from time to time--and she talks to me as well--as to what is going on within the government.

Canadian Heritage committee  I must admit, sir, that the answer I gave is unambiguous to a very ambiguous situation, and that I was really talking about a type of reality program. There is no question I said what I said, but I was really talking about a particular type of reality program that I think is not appropriate for a public broadcaster.

Canadian Heritage committee  I have spoken only with the deputy minister, who has told me that she believes they may move forward. They'll move forward with due haste, as they say. I honestly don't know when, and we will govern ourselves accordingly.

Canadian Heritage committee  It's really in the hands of the government, sir. I have no idea whatsoever.