Canadian Heritage committee  That's really for you to decide, I think, partially. The bill says at the beginning: AND WHEREAS the number of violent scenes broadcast on television during the hours when children watch television, namely, before 9 p.m., has nevertheless increased; I think that's what it is

Canadian Heritage committee  Perhaps I could break it down. You have several questions here. You asked if there was analysis of the 10,000 complaints or of the complaints regarding violence?

Canadian Heritage committee  Okay. As most of you will appreciate, a huge number of complaints are heard by the CBSC. They will be appearing before you, and they can tell you about the complaints they have and what kind of analysis they have done. With regard to the complaints to us, a lot of the 10,000 ar

Canadian Heritage committee  I must say that the question is totally a surprise. There were three predecessors before me. I am not aware of this policy. Our policy right now is very clear, and I'll enunciate it. Basically, we feel that the code and the way it has been administered through the CBSC, which has

Canadian Heritage committee  You're talking about a totally different time period. This was long before we had the Internet and all sorts of new media and other....

Canadian Heritage committee  Mr. Spicer?

Canadian Heritage committee  First of all, section 32 is the standard provision for criminal offences that you find in most acts, saying that if you breach this act, you're guilty of a criminal offence, which means you have to go to court. You have to prove the offence. You have to prove it to a criminal sta

Canadian Heritage committee  No, I was talking about the system that you are considering.

Canadian Heritage committee  It all depends on the regulations. But it isn't only a matter of cost. We also have to respect the legislation and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. So, if we are too controlling of content, we might also infringe upon the charter.

Canadian Heritage committee  My colleague, Scott Hutton, will answer that.

Canadian Heritage committee  The standards were drafted by the industry, you are absolutely right. However, we have to approve the code. We did so: we held hearings and examined the code. We believe that it truly reflects the appropriate standards for broadcasters. There is no doubt about the fact that they

Canadian Heritage committee  No. We asked broadcasters to draft a code that reflects society's standards with regard to violence or nudity, whether the content is acceptable or not, what can be broadcast during the day and what should not be broadcast in the evening. They came up with a draft after having he

Canadian Heritage committee  First of all, at the time the code was drafted, broadcasters did not work alone. They hired experts in the field and commissioned studies to help prepare the code. Second, as I said earlier, we signed off on the code. We agree with its principles. Finally, as in all cases of se

Canadian Heritage committee  We don't want to restrict people's creativity, etc. It is a question of balance, and the way we have found to achieve a fair balance is through self-regulation under CRTC guidance.

Canadian Heritage committee  We operate on a complaints basis. If people complain about the programming, if they feel the programming is too graphic, is too drastic, or is shown in hours when it shouldn't be shown, they'll complain. Most of these complaints are dealt with by the CBSC. If you would like to