Canadian Heritage committee  Why do industrialized nations such as Great Britain, Norway, and Germany still believe in free terrestrial radio while here in Canada, we think that the answer lies in wired or mobile Internet? While we are on the subject, it is important to stop thinking that young people are i

Canadian Heritage committee  Ironically, despite the virtues that are generally attributed to the new digital platforms, no other medium—I want to stress that—has yet succeeded in reaching our local populations as easily and quickly as radio. All the other media platforms, without exception, require much hea

Official Languages committee  A little earlier, Mr. Côté talked about stations where things are going better. Some will say that most of them are located in New Brunswick. However, they have greater weight on their shoulders because of their circumstances. Indeed they will have to provide training to small st

Official Languages committee  About two or three years ago, members of the Association des professionnels de la chanson et de la musique franco-ontariennes attended our annual general meeting, which was taking place in Ottawa, to talk to our members about what could be done to create closer ties between commu

Official Languages committee  The purpose—

Official Languages committee  As I explained earlier, Alliance des radios communautaires du Canada recently submitted a project to Canadian Heritage. The idea is to carry out a project that we have been very interested in for some time now, which is acquiring mobile applications for the four main mobile opera

Official Languages committee  Our stations may not all be the “cornerstones” of their communities in terms of social and other activities, since they do not necessarily all operate in markets of comparable size and make-up. The fact remains, however, that they must make the same effort, whatever the size of t

Official Languages committee  The definition given by the Canadian Radio Television and Telecommunications Commission clearly states the following: [A community station] is owned and controlled by a not-for-profit organization whose structure provides for membership, management, operation and programming pr

Official Languages committee  —you cannot train volunteers, you cannot provide support for the volunteers, you cannot take the time to set up a good program schedule. Radio stations are already having trouble keeping their heads above water, and now they are being asked to start looking for funds and things

Official Languages committee  Yes, they all have to drag a ball and chain called basic funding. That is exactly what we want for the Fonds canadien de la radio communautaire. If you are wearing a ball and chain, how can you run all over the place to sell things like bingo cards, raffle-tickets, etc.?

Official Languages committee  Classical music.

Official Languages committee  Yes. If at least we have one permanent position in each of our radio stations, this person... The problem is that we always have to look for funding, to sell advertising and things like that. So long as you are working just to keep your head above water—

Official Languages committee  I am a prime example. When I started as a host in the 1990s, it was at CINN-FM in Hearst, Ontario. Two years later, an opportunity opened up at Radio Énergie in Abitibi. Of course I jumped at the opportunity, given the possibilities it opened up for me. I wasn't repudiating the

Official Languages committee  For example, when we hear people—

Official Languages committee  That's right. In Quebec, for example, if that is what it's like for someone in Rimouski who complains that all there is is coverage of Montreal, imagine what it's like for someone who is even farther from Montreal, someone who lives in Saskatchewan or Manitoba. It is even more st