Canadian Heritage committee  I believe we don't have to go down this new road. Mr. Abbott mentioned or listed off in the Tuesday meeting the three areas of accountability in the Broadcasting Act, and then he put the checkmate in with subsection 46(5). But the Minister of Canadian Heritage already has the a

Canadian Heritage committee  My involvement with the radio orchestra goes back 35 years, but I do so many other things. I teach at UBC. I'm on 32 recordings of the CBC. You have to remember that the CBC Radio Orchestra has 232 commercial recordings out there; it's the most recorded orchestra in North America

Canadian Heritage committee  The two radio reports that I have here are the CBC's own summary report, which they've quoted at length in other opportunities, and the fall 2005 survey between Heritage Canada, CRTC, and Statistics Canada. That's the radio project. In that radio project--and these are fall 2005,

Canadian Heritage committee  The Auditor General's report has already gone down that road in criticizing the CBC for a lack of transparency and a lack of communication with the audience, and you get these responses of “Yes, we're working on it”. I think Sheila Fraser and her merry band of accountants are wel

Canadian Heritage committee  The Broadcasting Act does allow—

Canadian Heritage committee  —the CBC to create subsidiaries within itself to solve that. The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage is extremely influential on this point. If tomorrow, after your debate, you were to request the withdrawal of your report from Parliament, let's see how fast the CBC would rea

Canadian Heritage committee  Working backwards on your questions, no, the independence is as a subsidiary, as a division within CBC. I mentioned that it is within the power of President Lacroix to recommend to the board to create a corporate division within CBC, given its own governance, a special funding st

Canadian Heritage committee  Maybe I can add to that about digital and analog. Part of my preparation for this was to discuss with a technology expert that very issue. I had to omit it from my brief because it was far too long in the 10 pages. However, the idea came up, why not divide the country in half? A

Canadian Heritage committee  I refer back to my written submission, of which you have a copy. It covers that. Acknowledging the quest for a seven-year memorandum of understanding for the CBC to get a more predictable funding basis is a laudable thing. But I feel that your committee has been sidelined a littl

Canadian Heritage committee  In my written brief to the committee you will see seven recommendations along the lines just requested--not just two. But first and foremost, I would say that along with reconstituting or institutionalizing the CBC Radio Orchestra would go the entire infrastructure of classical m

Canadian Heritage committee  Friends, Canadians, countrymen, lend me your ears. We are in the right place at the right time. We have the opportunity and the desire to create a new CBC national radio orchestra as an institution for the 21st century that celebrates Canadian greatness in the world's cultural ar

Canadian Heritage committee  My name is Gene Ramsbottom. I'm here as an individual.