Canadian Heritage committee  We did examine this in our study. Yes. In fact, right off the top Canadian shows are discounted; their ad sales are discounted. There's something called the Canadian discount. So that is right off the top. I think the interesting thing--and we're waiting for a final draft of th

Canadian Heritage committee  That's one of the things we're bringing forward. It's not the first time this has come up in our industry. We have discussed this before. It's a recommendation of something called the Dunbar-Leblanc report that was commissioned by the CRTC about 18 months ago. The CRTC needs the

Canadian Heritage committee  Can I just jump in on the question of conventional TV, Madame Lavallée? It's an interesting question, whether it will survive. We think it's really important to look at the broadcasting industry in sectors. Conventional television is mass market programming. It is big budget, bi

Canadian Heritage committee  Thank you for asking that question. During the rushy part of my presentation—because I was over my time—we listed our recommendations. We tried to specifically look at what this committee could do, as legislators. We understand that you do not have the powers of the CRTC, but we

Canadian Heritage committee  Did it? I'm sorry.

Canadian Heritage committee  Historically the CRTC has protected the cultural interests of Canadians. They have done this even though they have been hampered by an inability to effectively enforce their own regulations. At the CRTC hearing, we've heard that several broadcasters are not in compliance with a n

Canadian Heritage committee  Thank you. Good afternoon, all. My name is Maureen Parker and I am the executive director of the Writers Guild of Canada. Here with me today is Rebecca Schechter, president of the Writers Guild and an award-winning screen writer. The Writers Guild of Canada is the national asso

Canadian Heritage committee  There is one last key element, but that's--

Canadian Heritage committee  The last element was that the CBC in 1999 lost the guaranteed envelope at the CTF. That had a huge effect on the CBC, because without that guaranteed envelope they had 50%. They didn't have money to produce series--again, that's the production money we were just talking about ear

Canadian Heritage committee  Yes, exactly. With 50%, lost; now they've come back at 37%. So now you're seeing them start to get back into the game.

Canadian Heritage committee  On your first question, I think it's crazy to assume that CBC will not need ad revenue; there's just no feasible way the public broadcaster can survive without ad revenue. In the best of all possible worlds, yes, it would be a great idea, but it's not realistic. I think what we'r

Canadian Heritage committee  We have dealt with this matter at length in the paper presentation that we filed as well, but the short of it is that we're very interested in the BBC model. We spent some time last fall, Rebecca and I, visiting the BBC, as most of us have in our industry. Of course, it's such an

Canadian Heritage committee  I have studied in French and I should try to speak it. Perhaps it's better. It's not a French class. I guess, yes, we are suggesting that we want to set up regional councils. We think the governance of the CBC really needs to be addressed. Whereas, of course, we very strongly

Canadian Heritage committee  I'm just going to start this off and then pass it over to our president. Yes, we do believe there should be regional production, both in terms of news and sports. In terms of dramatic and documentary content, those productions are made in different regions throughout the country

Canadian Heritage committee  My boss, Rebecca Schechter, is also one of the creators of Little Mosque on the Prairie, so maybe she'd like to talk about what development is.