Canadian Heritage Committee on June 18th, 2024

[Scott Shortliffe]

I would have to take an undertaking to get back to you on that. I'm afraid I don't have the number with me directly, but we have licensed television services, radio stations and community radio stations. I can get a full breakdown and bring it to you. I would be happy to do so.

I'll also say that we also work with and consult with, for example, French production companies. I mentioned earlier that we travelled across Canada asking about definitions of Canadian content. When we did that, we also met with production companies. I had the opportunity to sit down with a French-language production company—

[Michael Coteau, Liberal, Don Valley East, ON]

Can I jump in? I have only a few minutes.

[Scott Shortliffe]

I'm sorry. I was enthusiastic.

[Michael Coteau, Liberal, Don Valley East, ON]

No, I really appreciate your answer.

Your mandate is to create, connect and protect. A big part of that would be making sure that French-speaking Canadians have the type of content that contributes to keeping people connected and providing the right information. I know that you don't create content, but you create the conditions that allow that to happen.

My question is, in this current environment—and we've seen media shift drastically—do you issue licences where they may potentially not make money but at the same time serve to protect, create and promote?

[Scott Shortliffe]

We do, certainly, with community stations. I think, though, that we want to have a virtuous circle where supporting French also makes you money, and we're looking at how to do that.

I think we also see one thing with streaming and other services: that there's also an opportunity to bring French-Canadian content across the world. We think that when we talk about integrating streaming services in, it's not just challenges. It is also opportunities, and it's something we're looking forward to engaging more with them on in the future.

[Michael Coteau, Liberal, Don Valley East, ON]

I heard you say at the very beginning that there was a requirement for French-speaking channels to have a certain amount of French content.

If they're French-speaking channels, shouldn't they be entirely French?

[Scott Shortliffe]

I'll just say that it's interesting. For example, if you look at French radio stations, they have said to us openly that younger people are listening a lot to English songs because they're popular, and that they go to streaming services and listen to songs, so the radio stations sometimes say, “Can we broadcast less in French?”

We have said that we understand what they're saying to us and the business pressures, but having French available is an absolute necessity. That is the judgment that the commission has made today.

[Michael Coteau, Liberal, Don Valley East, ON]

Thank you, Chair. I appreciate it.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you very much.

I now go to Martin Champoux for two and a half minutes.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Mr. Hutton, you said that you were in regular contact with OLMCs in relation to any proceedings impacting French. You also said that you were building close ties with indigenous communities, which is great. Building those ties will ensure systematic engagement.

This isn't a trick question, but I would like to know whether the CRTC, in its work, treats Quebec the same way it treats OLMCs, or whether Quebec is given special consideration.

[Scott Hutton]

As an administrative tribunal, we make our decisions in the context of proceedings. All viewpoints matter equally. Of course, some participants' views are very well-thought-out, backed by statistics and such. That is what we want to base our decisions on. We have—

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Yes, I appreciate that, but I have just two and a half minutes. Like my fellow member—

[Scott Hutton]

—obligations with respect to OLMCs, especially consulting them and taking positive measures under the Official Languages Act. We discharge those obligations in all the activities we carry out.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

That means you already have a duty to consult groups like OLMCs and to build ties like the ones you're building with indigenous communities.

[Scott Hutton]

That is correct.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

It's not an idea that's foreign to you, then. Thank you.

I do want to point something out. From our standpoint, Quebec isn't just another group. It is an essential tool for protecting and promoting French in Quebec, in Canada, in North America and across the francophone world.

Again, thank you very much.

[Scott Hutton]

We fully agree, and we give significant consideration to what Quebec has to say during our proceedings.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

I know. I do want to say in the few seconds I have left that the CRTC has often stood its ground in the face of radio broadcasters asking for lower French music quotas. In a number of cases, the CRTC has been unwavering, standing firm and taking into account the viewpoint of cultural organizations, which, frankly, regularly have to fight for their interests before your tribunal.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you, Mr. Champoux.

Niki Ashton, you have two and a half minutes, please.

[Niki Ashton, NDP, Churchill—Keewatinook Aski, MB]

Thank you.

I think a lot of what's being proposed today has to do with supporting French-language broadcasters right across the country. The fact that they serve minority communities is important, and this bill recognizes that.

I want to shift to that, particularly around the question of challenges that smaller, local broadcasters face, not specific to the francophone context, but more broadly.

CHTM AR radio, here in northern Manitoba, performs an essential service in the radio services they provide. They are community radio in what is largely a media desert. In fact, just recently, when wildfires burned down the fibre optic cables to Flin Flon, which is one of our major centres, everybody was getting their news about fires and possible evacuations, etc., from AR radio, which is part of the CHTM AR network.

They have been clear about some of the challenges they face, particularly around CanCon. They get a lot of their music from services such as DMDs that usually provide MAPL data. It's left to them to decide, based on the three categories, if it fits the list etc. I am sure you can appreciate that for a small radio station that is doing essential work, that can be quite taxing.

One thing that they have raised is challenges with respect to the CRTC data.

I'm just wondering if it wouldn't better for stations across Canada to have access to the exact database that the CRTC works with instead of having small radio stations expend resources that they don't have or capacity they don't have, trying to guess if a song was made by a Canadian artist or was recorded in Canada, etc.

[Scott Shortliffe]

Your point is extremely well taken. There are two pieces of work that we're looking at now. The first is how to reduce the administrative burden on radio stations, because we think it has perhaps grown greater than it should have. Secondly, we're looking at possible solutions for a database of Canadian content, so that we can offer a solution.

These aren't done yet, and of course, the government's record of making sure it has databases and technological solutions that roll out seamlessly is not perfect, but it is something we see as a priority. We know radio stations need help, and we see them, as you so eloquently put it, as being absolutely key and core to communities, especially with community newspapers across Canada—

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

Thank you, Mr. Shortliffe.

I want to thank the witnesses for coming in and sharing some of their wisdom with us.

I will now suspend for a few minutes, so that we can go to the second group.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Hedy Fry]

I call the meeting back to order, please.

We are meeting with our second round of witnesses on the bill.

I'm sorry, everyone. I am just a little punchy. I came in on a red-eye, and I don't even know what I'm saying right now.

We're hearing from witnesses on Bill C-354. I will introduce them.

We have, from the Fédération culturelle canadienne-française, Manon Henrie-Cadieux, director of strategy and government relations. From the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada, we have Liane Roy, president, by video conference, and Serge Quinty, director of communications.

Please begin now. You have five minutes to present per group.

I want to thank you for coming.

We'll begin with Manon-Henrie Cadieux for five minutes, please.

[Manon Henrie-Cadieux, Director, Strategy and government relations, Fédération culturelle canadienne-française]

Good afternoon, members of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, Madam Chair, and ladies and gentlemen.

I sincerely appreciate the opportunity to appear before you today. My name is Manon Henrie‑Cadieux, and I am the director of strategy and government relations at the Fédération culturelle canadienne-française, or FCCF for short.

I should say that the FCCF is the political voice of arts and culture in Canadian and Acadian francophone communities at the national level. The FCCF co‑operates closely with, and has the support of, the Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada in providing leadership in broadcasting matters.

A clear and active stakeholder in the Yale report and the bills that followed, the FCCF helped to highlight the specific circumstances, concerns and needs of francophone minority communities. We are deeply engaged in sustained advocacy with the CRTC, to ensure that the Online Streaming Act is effectively implemented. Our active involvement in the current public consultations attests to that advocacy, especially regarding the strengthened provisions on the duty to consult communities and the way they are to be consulted. Our impactful contribution to the dedicated forum for communication between the CRTC and OLMCs, the CRTC-OLMC Discussion Group, also attests to the FCCF's advocacy work.

Thank you for the invitation to discuss the opportunities afforded by Bill C‑354, which the Bloc Québécois introduced.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Madam Chair, I have a point of order. It's hard to focus with all the chatter around the table while the witness is giving her presentation.