Canadian Heritage committee  As I said in my comments, there is only one alternative, frankly, and that is in some form of public financing. I think that if you believe we need a public broadcaster, then implicit in that is the commitment that it's not going to be simply a commercial broadcaster as depende

Canadian Heritage committee  I think, first of all, you have--and I'm sure you do understand--two quite different media in this respect. Radio people set their dial and stay there. You have a station you listen to. In television, you pick your loyalties one hour at a time. You sit there with your clicker, an

Canadian Heritage committee  If I could add a quick comment, I think there's an important issue here in terms of accountability. It's slightly different from what Tony has been emphasizing. It seems to me there's a real gap in the accountability line for the CBC. You have a mandate spelled out in the act, w

Canadian Heritage committee  Having been involved in politics over the years myself, I think it's unrealistic to suggest that governments of the day are going to give up their ultimate right to make order in council appointments.

Canadian Heritage committee  The question is whether we can get better quality than we sometimes do from within that system. I think we can. First of all, we need to have a process by which boards tell their government what their needs are and describe the kind of person they need, whether that's a regional

Canadian Heritage committee  Yes, exactly--if that's their only reason to be there. That's the issue. But I think we need a bigger role by boards to try to identify their needs. I think that is happening gradually. Then at least the government has some guidance, and at least then government appointments coul

Canadian Heritage committee  Thank you, Tony. Mr. Chairman and members, thank you for the opportunity to be here today. I'd like to speak briefly to two specific issues. First is how the CBC is financed. Second is a question that I know is of interest to many MPs, and that is the CBC's legislative mandate