Canadian Heritage committee  Complaints and the remedy of the complaints as enacted either by the CBSC or us.

Canadian Heritage committee  No, we don't. It's a complaint-driven system. We set standards. We go on the assumption that broadcasters are in the business to make money and produce broadcasting that appeals to Canadians. They get a licence from us. The licence says comply with the standards. We assume they c

Canadian Heritage committee  Yes. That's our whole general approach in all of this. We are dealing with a creative industry. You don't want to be too prescriptive, so you say set your standards, administer them, and we will make sure you adhere to them.

Canadian Heritage committee  The short answer is no. I think it is the appropriate pitch. Obviously there are other approaches. You could have an inspection system, you could have a monitoring system, you could have a reporting system--all of it. They are very costly, they are very intrusive, and I'm not con

Canadian Heritage committee  Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I thank the committee for inviting us to express our views on Bill C-327, An Act to amend the Broadcasting Act (reduction of violence in television broadcasts). The principle aim of the bill, as we understand it, is to contribute to solving th

Canadian Heritage committee  You are right: they are the products of the regulatory structure currently in place. If the system becomes different for signal transmission and broadcasting, I am certain that the industry will undergo restructuring to adapt to the new structure. The trend we are currently obse

Canadian Heritage committee  Firstly, you have to tell me what you mean by neutrality. This term is used by people often, but its meaning varies widely.

Canadian Heritage committee  That is too categorical. I do not question whether or not this is a good thing, but rather if this order fits in with our mandate. This is a statutory responsibility. I must make sure that it is fulfilled. If that is how I decide to deal with the issue, I must do so from the pers

Canadian Heritage committee  Yes, I know.

Canadian Heritage committee  No, I think we will have a subsidiary role, but clearly the key role is with the Department of Heritage and the Department of Industry. It's a fascinating issue. I was involved in copyright in various stages of my career. As you know, when we did the Canada-US. Free Trade Agree

Canadian Heritage committee  It's a daunting challenge.

Canadian Heritage committee  The last word was “broadcasters”?

Canadian Heritage committee  Yes, okay. Canadian ownership is clearly a very important key to Canadian culture, communications, etc. I was before this committee at one point in time as Commissioner of Competition and I talked about Canadian ownership. At that point in time, I talked about the transportation

Canadian Heritage committee  Absolutely. It makes up a significant portion of your mandate.

Canadian Heritage committee  As you know, the CRTC is an independent body that makes judgments on the basis of what we see as best. Both ministers of heritage and industry have the power under the respective acts to give us directions. But the directions have to be public, they have to be debated, and they