Canadian Heritage committee  If I recall correctly, that study was filed with us in some of our proceedings and we did take that into consideration, because when we set out Let's Talk TV, we set out what our road map would be so that people could, in effect, study and provide comment as to what we were putting in place.

Canadian Heritage committee  Our studies take the form of our proceedings and our hearings and our deliberations, in effect, which are themselves then published and collated in our decisions, and our decision does provide a response to that specific study. With respect to data being available, I think the chair did mention earlier that we're one of the most prolific collectors of data with respect to the industry.

Canadian Heritage committee  We will not present. We'll stand by the chairman's introductory remarks, so we're available for questions.

Canadian Heritage committee  You can go into questions at this point in time.

Canadian Heritage committee  Indeed, we focus—

Canadian Heritage committee  We focus on programming. We strive for a system that produces high-quality programming that will appeal to Canadians, regardless of the platform.

Canadian Heritage committee  I know I introduced it in French in my speech. This is where I have to tread carefully, because those are matters that are in front of our commission for decision right now, but I'll try to find a way to help you in the answer. Those are questions that we asked at this local hearing.

Canadian Heritage committee  It wasn't local news; it was local programming. Although local programming often is news, it was.... That fund was introduced at a very trying time in the broadcast industry. We've talked a lot about advertising revenue being shared across multiple platforms. In 2008 there was a rather serious downturn in the economy, and there were television stations that were closing.

Canadian Heritage committee  We have excellent data on the companies we regulate, specifically. Over the years, we've undertaken various exercises in an effort to collect specific data. We had some trouble as time went on. We are all familiar with the three companies you mentioned, but they each have entirely different business models.

Canadian Heritage committee  As we said, the CRTC's position is this. Nearly $4 billion in support is available to us, here in Canada, through various mechanisms. Within that amount, a number of supports are accessible, and we're exploring the need for a reorientation, to help a new segment, one that didn't traditionally have trouble but now does.

Canadian Heritage committee  We regulate the broadcasting system, including those who provide local news. Traditionally in the past, we regulated the number of hours. You mentioned hours and I won't repeat them. The amounts are here. You mentioned quality. Quality is very difficult to measure. We've just been through eight days of hearings, and those subjects did come up, and Canadians from across the nation expressed those concerns to us.

Canadian Heritage committee  The CRTC and our chairman through his speech certainly indicated we share those concerns with respect to the importance of investigative journalism. We're in a great period of transition at the CRTC and the media business. One of the constants in our business is that there is always a change and evolution.

Canadian Heritage committee  We changed our rules in the specific case of TFO, but other services are mandatory.

Canadian Heritage committee  Our information indicates that some broadcasters have already begun to implement measures further to our decisions. Those measures include a $25 basic package, small pre-assembled or custom packages, and pick-and-pay service. From a technical standpoint, the services seem to be emerging, and we believe that all broadcasters will be ready for March 1 implementation.

Canadian Heritage committee  Technically speaking, the government focuses on communities, as they are indeed official language minority communities. We put in place a variety of measures aimed at cable and satellite distributors to ensure they provide a minimum level of service to minority communities. And that service must be available on a pick-and-pay and small package basis, so that families can subscribe to what they like.