Canadian Heritage committee  And the loss, for the French market, of one-third of that amount.

Canadian Heritage committee  Not to me.

Canadian Heritage committee  Not to me.

Canadian Heritage committee  Absolutely.

Canadian Heritage committee  Yes. We have an operational crisis. We have a fund. The question is whether we will be able to do the job we've been asked to do at the level we've been asked to do it, but we have a fund and we're going to do our job. By the way, the twenty people on our board of directors are the most senior, experienced, and skilled people that this country has to offer across the spectrum in the broadcasting, production, and cable industry.

Canadian Heritage committee  The paper said she met with them. I am not sure that it was the start of a dialogue.

Canadian Heritage committee  Broadcasters all operate under a broadcasting year that ends August 31. They then file a return. That return would be used as the basis for the calculation. So I think the payment period would be mid-fall. I have not personally appreciated how much we rely on the monthly payment piece.

Canadian Heritage committee  I should say that we are contractually obligated to operate with an administrative cost ceiling of 5% of the funds under administration. We have lots of discussions at the finance committee about whether we can do better, but I'd put that 5% up against most other programs as an administrative cost load.

Canadian Heritage committee  I don't think it's appropriate for me to speculate on the timing or why. The support we've had from the federal government over the years has been steady, and the minister's announcement, from our perspective, was timely. In fact, it's very much appreciated because in some previous years we've had to wait until the budget.

Canadian Heritage committee  I think that is so far from our job—

Canadian Heritage committee  We think the BDUs have an important role to play at the table, both at an operational level at our table, as they have in the past, and as major funders alongside the funding of the department. I guess what we think is logical is for the minister to be maintaining lines of communication.

Canadian Heritage committee  Yes.

Canadian Heritage committee  The enforcement of the regulation and the strengthening of the CRTC regulations. That is all.

Canadian Heritage committee  I certainly don't believe so. Obviously those comments by Shaw are upsetting to us and certainly destabilizing for the whole industry. We think this is an excellent public policy instrument. I make no bones about it: we're not embarrassed about the work of the fund; we think the track record of the fund is solid, substantial, and sustained.

Canadian Heritage committee  I think technically it's the obligation of the regulator to enforce its regulations. We operate under a contract. The contract gives us approximately $120 million. As in any contract, there are policy stipulations and objectives that we must meet; the enforcement piece belongs to the commission.