Canadian Heritage committee  Thank you. That's an excellent comment. At the Documentary Network, we tend to consider the CRTC as one of the greatest Canadian inventions. With time, however, we're witnessing an erosion of its power, of its ability to regulate and of its arm's length position. Upstream from this entire discussion, we must, as Canadians, restate the fundamental importance of the CRTC and of the distance it must maintain from the government in order to set rules that benefit Canadians.

Canadian Heritage committee  Ratings are the number one fear of the entire industry. If a ratings weighting system is not introduced, we'll be heading toward a stifling of local creation. Yes, ratings are essential, the industry has to operate and reach the public, and it does so very well. However, certain genres, such as children's television, documentaries and certain arts and culture programs, can't fall within the ratings evaluation model.

Canadian Heritage committee  For the industry, for the business, the CIFVF was a talent and production incubator. It was a very economical fund relative to its needs, but it produced major results, starting with Jean Lemire, who made his first film thanks to the CIFVF, etc. As regards local television, this is a fund that made a major contribution to the making of high-quality works.

Canadian Heritage committee  With respect to governance, I have no specific recommendation, since we don't yet know all the details of the process. We know that five members will be appointed by the distributors and that two will be appointed by Canadian Heritage. We'll obviously take part in all the consultations.

Canadian Heritage committee  Good afternoon. My name is Jean-Pierre Gariépy. I am Executive Director of the Documentary Network. The Documentary Network aims to ensure that documentary plays its rightful role in the defence of democracy, tolerance and open-mindedness. It encourages speaking out and public debates sparked by films that tackle the issues, aspirations and values of society.