Canadian Heritage committee  Can I add something? You brought up the matter of the issues we face. The big issues that we face are an extremely important subject in the world of media and it is being discussed everywhere. Richard ended by talking about complex issues. A very important one is the issue of intangible assets, things like rights, brands, our employees, recruitment and training.

Canadian Heritage committee  It is true that it is a good solution for English broadcasters who are plugging in American programs. It could work. However, in Quebec, as Robert says, there really is too much inventory. No television company, public or private, has taken that route, because there is surplus inventory and adding more commercials would simply drive advertising rates down.

Canadian Heritage committee  If I may just add something about the integration, we did that in Montreal a few years ago, and in fact the main issue in that is a brand issue. If you decide to go to the news on CBC on the Regina radio station, or a TV in Moncton or a website in London, I want you to recognize the same set of values and the same quality that CBC can offer to you.

Canadian Heritage committee  We have many initiatives on the multicultural aspect of it, and one I would like to talk about is RCI. RCI viva, which is a part of RCI now, is totally designed for immigrants in Canada and for people of all cultures. You can catch RCI viva on SIRIUS satellite radio now. If you go on the website you will see that it's really a multicultural service.

Canadian Heritage committee  We are still investing $15 million in Radio Canada International, and I feel that all our government partners are perfectly aware of the corporation's integration strategy. They know full well that Radio Canada International is part of it.

Canadian Heritage committee  It is true that Radio Canada International's budget is now part of the corporation's budget. When we did it—and I say "we" because it includes all Radio Canada International's partners—it was very clear that we wanted to manage it more intelligently, if I may say. It allowed us to cut some costs so that we could put more money into programming.

Canadian Heritage committee  I will talk about the mandate first and then about the money. Radio Canada's mandate is not changing, but, like media mandates everywhere, it is evolving. Look at the large international media outlets. When, for example, Radio Canada International goes on the air in French-speaking Africa or anywhere else in the world, we are up against the major international players like the BBC, Voice of America or Radio France Internationale.

Canadian Heritage committee  I will answer the question about RCI first and then I will answer the question about the francophone and anglophone markets. RCI's basic mandate has absolutely not changed. However, you will have noticed that for several years, we have worked hard to integrate our radio, television and web resources with the same logic as almost all the media in the world, that is to try for a multi-platform approach.