Canadian Heritage committee  I would hope that's the case. As I say, if you feel it is required, or helpful, or necessary--whatever--to hold those hearings, you will call us and presumably will call a lot of people who appeared before the task force to form your own views and make your own recommendations.

Canadian Heritage committee  Not per se. I just think one of the issues driving it is the funding. So far, the fund is directed to the production of broadcasting; the question is whether it should also include production for new media. That's clearly an issue that has to be addressed.

Canadian Heritage committee  I wouldn't have undertaken it if I didn't think there was a possibility of success. Now, as for the degree of success, that will be for others to judge. Of course you never have a totally clean solution. There will always be some people who feel that some parts have not been addr

Canadian Heritage committee  Yes, you're absolutely right.

Canadian Heritage committee  Yes, that's its purpose. The purpose of the CTF is to receive those funds and to place them in the industry to generate Canadian content. In its simplest form, that's what it is. And it makes sure that's done in an equitable and efficient way, and one where you get the most bang

Canadian Heritage committee  I think there are two very distinct issues. One is the mandate of the CRTC. The other one is the mandate of the task force. The task force, which is headed by Michel, is dealing with one tool that we have, to procure and to induce Canadian content, which is the fund. We have all

Canadian Heritage committee  What we have here is a crisis. We want to resolve it quickly; we want to find a solution. That's why we should have, first of all, the facts; let's get past the headlines and the public positions of people to find out what's really going on. Secondly, we're dealing with very con

Canadian Heritage committee  No, not at all.

Canadian Heritage committee  I should have used those words; that's a very good description.

Canadian Heritage committee  Yes. The release specifically mentioned, “Other relevant stakeholders”. So if a group comes forward and wants to contribute, of course Michel and his task force will talk to them; we want to make sure we cover the landscape. But his mandate is limited to resolving this issue, and

Canadian Heritage committee  You're absolutely right. The fund is a non-profit corporation. It has its own board of governors. On it sit various representatives from the industry, including the ones from the cable companies, and representatives from the Department of Canadian Heritage. Its responsibility is

Canadian Heritage committee  I chose Mr. Arpin because of his experience within the industry and the CRTC and because he knows all the players very well. Mr. Arpin chose the individuals who will be working with him. He will explain why.

Canadian Heritage committee  It's a good question. Unfortunately, you're asking the wrong person. I don't have supervisory responsibility for the fund. I don't have any members of the CRTC sitting on the fund, etc. My role, or the role of the CRTC, comes in at the very tail end. Namely, our regulations say t

Canadian Heritage committee  Firstly, I don't assume the companies are acting in bad faith. They both announced they will resume the payments, etc. Secondly, I'd expect that our task force will resolve the issue. Thirdly, a resolution, whatever it will be, will probably require an amendment to the regulation

Canadian Heritage committee  As I already said, the system is quite clear. We are responsible for ensuring the broadcasting of Canadian content. We do that by requiring cable companies and satellite communications companies to make contributions to the Canadian Television Fund. To date, that has worked and t