Proposal to Fix the CBC Being Debated in Parliament

Now might be a good time to write, or re-write your Member of Parliament

http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Parlinfo/Compilations/HouseOfCommons/MemberByPostalCode.aspx?Menu=HOC

and Heritage Minister James Moore

Hon. James Moore
Minister of Canadian Heritage and Official Languages
15 Eddy Street
Gatineau QC K1A 0M5
(819) 997-7788
moorej@parl.gc.ca

Via Inside the CBC: Ministers are currently debating an opposition motion that would prevent the current round of cuts to the CBC and fix it for the long term. The motion address' specific points in terms of CBC content and would provide considerable additional funding for the public broadcaster.

The text of the motion can be found here but just in case it should disappear someday it reads (in total):

RECOMMENDATION 1.1

The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage recommends that the CBC/Radio-Canada continue in its role as Canada’s public broadcaster, an institution at the center of cultural, political, social, and economic life in Canada, and a key component of Canada’s broadcasting system.

RECOMMENDATION 1.2

The Committee recommends that CBC/Radio-Canada continue to be predominantly and distinctively Canadian.

RECOMMENDATION 1.3

The Committee recommends that prime-time hours, from 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 pm, Monday to Friday, on the CBC/Radio-Canada’s television networks, should be reserved for Canadian productions.

RECOMMENDATION 1.4

The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage recommends that when services cannot be distributed directly, CBC/Radio-Canada should negotiate fair and equitable agreements with its affiliates to ensure that all Canadians have access to their national public broadcaster.

RECOMMENDATION 1.5

The Committee considers that CBC/Radio-Canada should increase the number of programmes that reflect all regions of Canada, including prime-time programming.

RECOMMENDATION 1.6

The Committee recommends an increase in the variety, drama, news, public affairs and documentary programming produced by the regional CBC/Radio-Canada stations and independent producers.

RECOMMENDATION 1.7

The Committee recommends that CBC/Radio-Canada devote a greater share of its programming to the arts (music, books, film, dance and theatre performances) and that these programmes reflect the cultural diversity of the regions.

RECOMMENDATION 1.8

The Committee calls upon the television and radio services of CBC/Radio-Canada to meet the needs of official-language minority communities more fully and to offer programming that better reflects their reality.

RECOMMENDATION 1.9

The Committee calls upon CBC/Radio-Canada to develop an accountability framework, in conjunction with official-language minority communities, setting clear qualitative and quantitative objectives for CBC/Radio-Canada for content of news, drama and variety programming.

RECOMMENDATION 1.10

The Committee wishes to stress how important it is for CBC/Radio-Canada to contribute to shared national consciousness and identity, as stipulated in subparagraph 3(1)(m)(vi) of the Broadcasting Act.

RECOMMENDATION 1.11

The Committee supports CBC/Radio-Canada in its efforts to reflect Canada’s cultural diversity and gender balance. We encourage the Corporation to pursue new initiatives allowing contemporary Canada to be represented among all its creators and contributors.

RECOMMENDATION 1.12

The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage recommends maintaining the current provisions of the statutory mandate of the CBC/Radio-Canada as set out in paragraphs 3(1)(l) and (m) of the Broadcasting Act, notwithstanding recommendation 2.3, which adds the role of the new media.

RECOMMENDATION 1.13

The Committee recommends the ratification of a seven-year memorandum of understanding between the Government of Canada and CBC/Radio-Canada, setting out the respective responsibilities of the signatories. The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage would be responsible for reviewing the memorandum of understanding and will conduct public consultations as required.

RECOMMENDATION 2.1

Recognising the need for Canadian public spaces in the online environment, the Committee recommends that CBC/Radio-Canada continue to develop its Internet presence and to make its content accessible online for Canadians.

RECOMMENDATION 2.2

The Committee recommends that CBC/Radio-Canada build on its new media foundations and continue to pursue new and innovative ways of connecting Canadians of all ages to each other and to their national public broadcaster.

RECOMMENDATION 2.3

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada should amend the Broadcasting Act to include digital media and emerging technologies as an integral aspect of achieving CBC/Radio-Canada mandate and reaching out to Canadians.

RECOMMENDATION 2.4

The Committee recommends that the Government of Canada include a clear role for digital media and emerging technologies in achieving the CBC/Radio-Canada mandate as part of the proposed seven-year memorandum of understanding.

RECOMMENDATION 2.5

The Committee agrees that innovative use of new media is fundamental to the future relevance of CBC/Radio-Canada. We therefore recommend that CBC/Radio-Canada develop a digital media strategy to be submitted to the Department of Canadian Heritage. The plan should include cost estimates for the development and expansion of the Corporation’s new media endeavours relative to the goals of its mandate.

RECOMMENDATION 2.6

The Committee recommends that, in consideration of CBC/Radio-Canada’s global funding needs, the Government of Canada recognise the need for increased funding toward the development of new media initiatives to pursue the objectives of its mandate.

RECOMMENDATION 2.7

The Committee notes the ongoing New Media Initiative undertaken by the CRTC. We recommend that, in its review, the Commission give consideration to the social and cultural, as well as the economic impact of internet broadcasting on the objectives of the Broadcasting Act.

RECOMMENDATION 2.8

The Committee recommends that, in its New Media Project Initiative, the CRTC give consideration to the role of public broadcasting and of CBC/Radio-Canada in particular, in the delivery of Canadian content across all platforms, and the extent to which public broadcasting should contribute to the development of a vibrant, sustainable Canadian programming environment.

RECOMMENDATION 2.9

The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage recommends that the CRTC, as part of its New Media Project Initiative, consider the need to protect the neutrality of carriage of Canadian public broadcasting content, and of CBC/Radio-Canada content specifically, over new media platforms.

RECOMMENDATION 2.10

The Committee recommends that Canadian Internet services Providers be encouraged to voluntarily embrace the spirit of Section 3(1)(t)(i) of the Broadcasting Act in their approach to Canadian public broadcasting content delivered over the Internet.

RECOMMENDATION 2.11

The Committee recommends that CBC/Radio-Canada submit a revised plan for the conversion of its current system of OTA transmitters that includes options for possible partnerships and costing to extend its digital transmission signals free-to-air to all Canadians who currently receive its analogue transmission signals.

RECOMMENDATION 2.12

The Committee recommends that CBC/Radio-Canada prepare a detailed programming plan for the roll-out of its French- and English-language television HDTV. The plan should include the rationale and an explanation of how its plans connect with corporate objectives with respect to Canadian priority programming.

RECOMMENDATION 2.13

The Committee recommends that CBC/Radio-Canada submit an updated financial plan to the Department of Canadian Heritage for the transition to HD/DTV.

RECOMMENDATION 2.14

The Committee recommends that the Department of Canadian Heritage prioritize its response to the CBC/Radio-Canada plan and provide one time funding for the capital costs associated with the transition to HD/DTV and recurrent funding to cover the increased operational costs of transmission and distribution of HD signals.

RECOMMENDATION 3.1

The Committee encourages CBC/Radio-Canada to explore the possibility of developing partnerships with the National Film Board of Canada.

RECOMMENDATION 3.2

The Committee recommends that CBC/Radio-Canada play an increased role in the development, promotion and distribution of Canadian feature films.

RECOMMENDATION 4.1

The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage recommends that the Government of Canada commit to stable, multi-year funding for CBC/Radio-Canada, indexed to the cost of living. Funding should be for a period of not less than seven years and be established by means of the proposed memorandum of understanding.

RECOMMENDATION 4.2

The Government of Canada has approved additional one-time funding of $60 million annually since 2002. The Committee recommends that this parliamentary appropriation be permanently added to the Corporation’s core funding.

RECOMMENDATION 4.3

The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage recommends to the Government of Canada that any broadening of or addition to the mandate be appropriately reflected in CBC/Radio-Canada’s parliamentary appropriations.

RECOMMENDATION 4.4

The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage recommends that CBC/Radio-Canada’s core funding be increased to an amount equivalent to at least $40 per capita.

RECOMMENDATION 4.5

The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage recommends that CBC/Radio-Canada give the regions greater prominence in all its services.

RECOMMENDATION 4.6

The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage supports the strategic plan submitted to the Minister of Canadian Heritage in January 2007, which is designed to improve programming for local communities on CBC/Radio-Canada’s English- and French-language radio services.

RECOMMENDATION 4.7

The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage recommends that CBC/Radio-Canada retain guaranteed access to the various existing public funding sources, including the Canadian Television Fund, in order to support the production and broadcast of Canadian audiovisual content.

RECOMMENDATION 4.8

The Committee recognizes the current necessity and value of advertising revenues from television and on new platforms, and accepts that the CBC/Radio-Canada continue to pursue those revenue streams. However, the Committee also recommends that the Government of Canada and CBC/Radio-Canada work toward decreasing CBC Radio-Canada’s relative dependency on advertising revenues for television programming.

RECOMMENDATION 4.9

The Committee recommends, as part of the proposed memorandum of understanding, that negotiations between the Government and CBC/Radio-Canada should address the reduction of the Corporation’s relative dependency on advertising revenues for television programming, without compromising service.

RECOMMENDATION 6.1

The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage recommends that CBC/Radio-Canada develop qualitative and quantitative performance indicators and clear targets for all six priorities and strategic areas identified in its Corporate Plan.

RECOMMENDATION 6.2

The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage recommends that all financial and accounting information be reported in the same way by both the French and English language networks, to render comparisons between the two entities possible.

RECOMMENDATION 6.3

The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage recommends that CBC/Radio-Canada take inspiration from the British Broadcasting Corporation’s accountability model, rooted in results-based management. It would include the publication of an annual report and financial statement reporting details, both qualitative and quantitative, on all activities of public interest and its budgeting plans. In these documents, CBC/Radio-Canada would provide a comprehensive report on its programming and financial information for each of its individual services. This would facilitate objective, rigorous and transparent evaluations.

RECOMMENDATION 6.4

The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage recommends that all reports produced by the CBC/Radio-Canada, particularly those prepared for Parliament and especially the chapters about its operations, should be a comprehensive source of information, transparent, relevant and informative. This reporting should not, however, go so far as to compromise proprietary information that would put the Corporation at a competitive disadvantage.

RECOMMENDATION 6.5

The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage recommends that the CBC/Radio-Canada report to the Committee, at its earliest convenience, on its progress pursuant to the recommendations made in the 2005 Special Examination Report carried out by the Office of the Auditor General.

RECOMMENDATION 7.1

In the interest of greater distribution and availability of Canadian content, the Committee recommends that CBC/Radio-Canada give greater priority to negotiating with artists and producers a fair and equitable sale and broadcast rights agreement over new and emerging platforms.

RECOMMENDATION 7.2

The Committee recommends that CBC/Radio-Canada move rapidly to acquire effective and operational captioning technology in order to offer captioning for 100% of its programming in real time.

RECOMMENDATION 7.3

The Committee recommends that CBC/Radio-Canada build on its efforts to preserve the thousands of hours of radio and television programming broadcast by its national, regional and local services, so that Canadians have access to this audiovisual heritage.

RECOMMENDATION 7.4

Given the importance of the Office of the Ombudsman and the need for fair decisions, the Committee recommends that the individual be selected from persons other than current CBC/Radio-Canada employees, or persons who have not been employed by the Corporation within the five years prior to the proposed date of employment.

James Moore should Resign

Heritage Minister James Moore said today that the CBC could be looking at 6-1200 job cuts. The thing is Moore is in a unique position as the closest member of government to the national public broadcaster. That means that either

a) Moore took it upon himself to release sensitive, secret information before the CBC could

or

b) Moore senselessly, callously and needlessly caused panic among thousands of CBC employees for his own amusement.

In either case Moore should resign his office and his seat in parliament or be fired and removed from caucus.

New Petition for the CBC

I don't know how effective online petitions are, but people seem to like them. When the CBC funding issue first came up I created an event for it on Facebook. This has caused some confusion but I created an event rather than a group because there is a finite timeline. The current funding crisis will be decided one way or another in the short term and I already have a group for long term issues. Next some CBC spokesperson made the colossal mistake of bringing throwing Radio 3 into the mix, muddying the water and dividing people's efforts. So I created a separate event for that.

Supporters of both groups eventually convinced me to create online petitions there are currently over 800 signatures on the Radio 3 petition and the CBC petition launched last night. In short it asks Parliament to implement the recommendations of the Heritage Committee which were made last year after long and careful study and which would resolve the current crisis.

John Doyle at the Globe has a piece about the CBC's situation this morning in which he says the CBC needs to decide what it wants to be. He points out that the CBC has been using two definitions recently. One that says

"CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada's national public broadcaster and one of its largest cultural institutions. With 29 services offered on radio, television, the Internet, satellite radio, digital audio, as well as through its record and music distribution service and wireless WAP and SMS messaging services, CBC/Radio-Canada is available how, where and when Canadians want it."

That the CBC uses when it wants public support and another that it has been using recently "a publicly subsidized commercial network,". If it's the former then it needs to be supported and funded, if it's the latter then the CBC is on it's own.

The CBC has certainly not been acting like our National Public Broadcaster in recent years. CBC execs do not seem to understand that a public broadcaster needs public support. They have slowly been alienating their core audience in favor of larger audiences. While they may now have larger audiences, most of those audiences are passive. They may watch CBC programming but they won't fight for the CBC with their members of parliament which makes rallying the troops in a crisis like this much harder. With the Radio 3 it's been relatively easy. Radio 3 knows who they are, what they want to do, and how they want to do it and their audience is nearly rabid in their support. With other parts of the CBC though I have to convince people of the potential, of what the CBC used to be and what it might be in the future. The present of the CBC is not a strong selling point.

The reality is that Canada needs a well funded national public broadcaster. It does not need a publicly subsidized commercial network. If that is what the CBC wants to be then it is hard to make the argument that it needs the funding it currently has. Mr. Doyle is wrong about one thing though. The CBC does not need to decide who they are and what they want to be. The parliament needs to decide that, which is what the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage tried to do last year. It can not be left up to CBC management to decide what the CBC should be, that has to be decided for them before they take the job. CBC managements role is not to define the CBC, it is to make the CBC work.

The CBC's Funding Must Be Increased

There is a piece in the Toronto Sun today expressing shock and outrage that the CBC is seeking more money from the federal government during the recession. That the Toronto Sun doesn't like it should be enough to convince you that it's a good idea. There are blogs in this city that have more credibility than the Sun. You can read the whole spew here but it reads in part:

"The public broadcaster already covers its costs in large part by siphoning just over $1 billion a year from the public purse.

But apparently that won't be nearly enough to pay the bills in the coming year.

Even before the economic crash last fall, government figures show the CBC had already rung up another $59 million in red ink for the year ending Aug. 31, 2008 -- on top of its usual handout that was 8% higher last year than 2007.

Now the CBC is suffering a precipitous drop in ad revenues as traditional advertisers are themselves slammed by the widening economic crisis."

The CBC was thoughtful enough to post a response to the Sun, pointing out all of the very, very many things that the Sun got wrong (it could have been deliberate misinformation but I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt). The CBC Response is here and reads in part:

"The public broadcaster will not be in the red this fiscal year, which ends March 31, 2009. CBC/Radio-Canada will break even, in spite of the economic downturn, because of cost-cutting measures put in place by management starting last August. In fact, we have not been in a year-end deficit position in 10 years.

Contrary to Mr. Weston’s statement, our parliamentary appropriation was not increased by 8% this year over last year. Our appropriation was exactly the same as the previous year, save for a 1.5% salary increase that Treasury Board allotted to all Crown Corporations and a carry over of some funding originally projected for the previous year. In fact, our base operating appropriation has not been increased in constant dollars for 35 years."

Now what neither the CBC nor the Sun mentioned is that the CBC is federally mandated to provide certain services to the Canadian public. Sure Mr. Weston, all media in this country are hurting but in this economic crisis none of them share the mandated requirements of the CBC. Meeting those requirements costs money and, due to inflation, those costs go up every year. As the CBC press release mentioned the CBC hasn't seen an increase in funding (in constant dollars) for 35 years. That's why last year Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage recommended dramatic increases in funding for the CBC. They also recommended that the CBC reduce its dependence on advertising. Now the economic crisis has taken care of the advertising part, but without the funding increase. Last year Mr. Harper who is staunchly opposed to arts and culture generally refused to accept the recommendations of the Heritage Committee. But perhaps, now that the economic tide has turned and Mr. Harper has discovered the joys of spending it's time to reconsider.

Stephen Harper should listen to his own Heritage Committee and fund the CBC so that it can provide the services mandated by the Canadian government and ignore the petty voice of a publication that exists to serve its own political purposes, that doesn't even take the time to do research before publishing its bile, and who's greatest public service to the city of Toronto and the Canadian public is the Sunshine Girl.

Conference Board and Michael Geist weigh in on Harper's War on Art

The Conference Board of Canada released a report today which it called the "most comprehensive look at the arts and cultural industries yet". According to CBC News the report found that

"Arts and culture contributed $46 billion to Canada's economy in 2007, but the overall impact of the sector was a much broader $84.6 billion"

That the above amounts equal " 7.4 per cent of Canada's gross domestic product"

"It attributes 1.1 million jobs to arts and culture or to spinoff industries, such as tourism"

That "culture has less tangible benefits, such as helping people of diverse backgrounds understand each other"

and that

The "creative economy" is a "key driver of economic growth in the future."

Also today Ottawa University Law Professor Dr. Michael Geist, who has spearheaded the campaign against Harper's Bill C-61 (which would criminalize most consumers of art and media), weighed in on the cuts to the arts. Geist pointed out the double standard that appears when comparing the "creative economy" to other sectors:

"Few people argue for a market-only approach for the sale of airplanes, largely because public support is recognized as a necessary pre-condition to global commercial success. The same may be true in the cultural industries. As we move from a world of scarcity (limited bandwidth and access to culture) to one of abundance (near unlimited access to culture), Canadian policies must shift from unworkable regulations that limit access to foreign content toward efforts that back the creation and promotion of Canadian content. In other words, cutting off funding for promotion is not just bad cultural policy. It is bad economic policy."

He also criticized cuts to programs that provide for the digitization of cultural heritage:

"the announced cuts move Canada in the opposite direction. For example, just as the government was cutting $11.7 million to the Canadian Memory Fund (which gives federal agencies money to digitize their collections and post them online), the European Union - which is currently led by the Conservative French President Nicolas Sarkozy - was committing nearly $200 million next year alone toward digitization and efforts to provide online access to Europe's cultural heritage. The European Commission has urged its member states to increase their digitization budgets, as Europe works toward the creation of a massive European Digital Library."

An emergency meeting of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage was called for this afternoon to discuss Harper's attack on arts, culture and the economy, though I have yet to see any official reports on results from that meeting.

p.s. not sure who to credit with the above photo - if it's yours, let me know.

CBC, Money, Labour and Marketplace in Jeopardy?

A bunch of stuff in InsidetheCBC.com today.

First (and second really) CBC President Herbert Lacroix was pretty busy last week. First at the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television last Thursday Lacroix reiterated that the CBC requires an extra 215 million dollars in order to maintain quality programming. This amount was suggested by the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage back in February.

On Sunday Lacroix also became the first CBC President ever to speak at the bi-annual convention of the Canadian Media Guild (CMG), the union that represents the vast majority of the CBC's employees.

"Lacroix said poor communication between the senior executives and guild representatives underscored an urgent need to rebuild a proper relationship. Lacroix’s said his mission since he joined the CBC 18 months ago has been to build a greater level of respect and transparency at every level of the organization.
Lacroix called for a “paradigm shift” (yes, he actually said “paradigm shift”) in thinking to incorporate more pride and positivity. He added that he knew the job was hard because the same executives are in the same place as they were during the 2005 lockout. He also highlighted that each member of his senior management team had been fully briefed on the importance of the CBC/CMG relationship, and “failure is not an option” to them."

This is good news for the CBC across the board. With nothing having changed substantially since 2005 and a constant need for cash at the CBC I would have called a 2009 work stoppage likely just a few days ago. (I actually still think it's likely, but wish Mr. LaCroix all the luck in the world.) With public support somewhat weaker than it was in 2005 a work stoppage next year could be disastrous.
Finally it appears that Marketplace is going on a bit of a hiatus. It appears that the program is being replaced in it's 7:30 pm Wednesday time slot by the American game show Jeopardy. The show will resume in January 2009, replacing Royal Canadian Air Farce in its Friday evening time slot. It should also be pointed out that that same Heritage Committee Report Mr. Lacroix referenced on Thursday also recommended "That CBC Television's prime time (M-F 7-11 pm) be exclusively Canadian" and "That the CBC Reduce it's relative dependency on advertising revenues for television programs". From InsidetheCBC.com:

"Marketplace is the only adult show on CBC to not run ads, a commitment the show has kept since it started 36 seasons ago. This is in keeping with the shows spotlight on consumer affairs."

Heritage Committee Hearings on Radio 2

Via insidethecbc.com: The House of Commons standing committee on Canadian heritage at the suggestion of NDP heritage critic Bill Siksay is set to hold hearings on the announced changes coming to CBC Radio 2. It's a shame. The NDP is generally closer to the mark on arts and culture issues.

I do not doubt that, as Siskay said

“I’m concerned that the commitment to classical music in Canada is a key part of the Canadian culture. CBC Radio 2 has been a key player in classical music,”

but I would hold that music generally is a key part of Canadian culture. I do not believe that the place of music in Canadian culture is genre specific. Canada is, by choice, a multi-cultural country and being multi-cultural leads to a broad spectrum of musical forms. I see no reason why a single genre should be held up as vital to Canadian culture at the expense of all others.

I hope, and believe, that this is a political move aimed at placating the classical music fans who have been up in arms over the proposed changes. Parliament, after all, has no direct ability to change CBC's content. They may, if they so choose, change the mandate of the CBC and/or appoint over time a Board of Directors that thinks and acts differently than the current board. Parliament could not though, for example, bring back jPod. I don't believe that Parliament would mandate that the CBC play a particular type of music at a specific time on a specific channel.

Hopefully, through this process the Heritage Committee will come to a better understanding of the thought process behind these changes and the value of diversity.

Heritage Committee Supports Net Neutrality

The Heritage Committee, which has been on a roll this week after proposing a serious revamp of the CBC has now come out in favour of Net Neutrality rules.

The federal standing committee on Canadian heritage has urged the CRTC to curb interference in internet traffic by service providers such as Bell Canada and Rogers Communications, particularly in the case of the CBC.

Canadian service providers, including Bell and Rogers, have admitted to "bandwidth shaping," or giving priority to certain types of internet traffic over others.

If you are not familiar with the issue and why it is vital to the future of Canadian Media, I'd urge you to check out Dr. Michael Geist's column on the issue as well as neutrality.ca. There is also a fairly large facebook group dedicated to Net Neutrality in Canada at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2257733303.