Canadian Heritage committee  Thank you, Madam Chair. Good afternoon. Thank you for the opportunity to contribute to the process leading to the necessary passage of Bill C‑11. My name is Carol Ann Pilon. I am the executive director of the Alliance des producteurs francophones du Canada, or APFC, an organization that brings together independent French-speaking producers in Canada's official language minority communities.

Canadian Heritage committee  We'll definitely have to study that document in detail, but what struck me on first reading was that it frequently referred to the flexibility granted to broadcasting businesses. If it's the kind of flexibility that results in no increase in funding invested to support the creation of Canadian content, then we're obviously failing to achieve the objective.

Canadian Heritage committee  Thank you very much. Yes, it has to be provided somewhere, either in the preamble to the act or in the directions, that the aim is to increase support for the production and dissemination of Canadian content. I think that has to be clear because, as Mr. Perreault says, we may indeed be at the mercy of successive orders that might be made by the Governor in Council, which could alter the interpretation from one government to the next.

Canadian Heritage committee  We entirely agree on that subject. We propose two principles to guarantee that protection. The first actually concerns the official language minority communities, both anglophone in Quebec and francophone outside Quebec. We also propose that a provision be added to section 3 precisely to ensure that content is created by and for the official language minority communities and to guarantee access thereto.

Canadian Heritage committee  The current balance power between independent producers—especially those that are members of the APFC—and the broadcasters is very lopsided. These small businesses still find it hard to carve out a position in the broadcasting system. It's obviously a lot harder to negotiate when that balance clearly favours broadcasters.

Canadian Heritage committee  Our producers work outside Quebec. The volume of independent production outside that province represents approximately 4%. Despite the fact that the francophone population outside Quebec…

Canadian Heritage committee  The Alliance des producteurs francophones du Canada represents producers working in French outside Quebec. Our members are established in eastern Canada, western Canada, Ontario and the territories. The volume of production from independent producers outside Quebec currently represents approximately 4% of the volume…

Canadian Heritage committee  The francophone population outside Quebec represents 14% of the total francophone population of Canada. The Broadcasting Act currently contains only one reference to linguistic duality. Under this bill, that is the only provision that confers a status on us. It is therefore very important to make express mention of the official language minority communities to ensure that content is produced and access is provided to that content in communities outside Quebec.

Canadian Heritage committee  First of all, I want to thank the committee for having me once again. Since I've previously made a presentation that was entered into the public record, I will simply summarize it briefly and highlight what we feel are its essential points. In our initial presentation, the Alliance des producteurs francophones du Canada, or APFC, outlined three fundamental principles.

Canadian Heritage committee  Good afternoon. I am here on behalf of the Alliance des producteurs francophones du Canada, or APFC, which, as you know, represents independent French-speaking producers working in francophone minority communities across Canada. Our members contribute to the economic well-being, cultural vitality and survival of their communities by promoting a diversity of francophone voices across the country.