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APPENDICES
Appendix 2
Terms of Reference
The State of the Canadian Broadcasting System:
Terms of Reference
Study Topic
The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage has decided to undertake a study on the state of the Canadian broadcasting system and how successful it has been in meeting the objectives of the Broadcasting Act of 1991. As with previous studies by this Committee, the issues of Canadian content and cultural diversity will be central in the study of broadcasting.
Background
The process of developing a standardized public policy for the Canadian broadcasting system dates back to the Royal Commission on Radio Broadcasting of 1928. As the industry has evolved and expanded, numerous studies, commissions, parliamentary committees, government panels and task forces have continued to address this question.
The first legislation that provided a regulatory framework for Canada's broadcasters was the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Act of 1932. Following the arrival of television, this Act was replaced by successive versions of the Broadcasting Act in 1958, 1968 and 1991.
Over time, the Broadcasting Act has evolved into an instrument that serves to: confirm the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's (CBC) mandate as a national broadcaster; place restrictions on foreign ownership; require the predominant use of Canadian creators and talent; and reaffirm a vision of the broadcasting system as a means of strengthening Canada's cultural, social and economic structures.
The Task Force on Broadcasting Policy conducted a comprehensive study of the Broadcasting Act in the mid-1980s. Its final report provided a framework for a consideration of Canada's broadcasting policy by the Standing Committee on Communications and Culture in 1987-88. The combined results of these efforts helped initiate needed revisions to the Act, culminating with the Broadcasting Act of 1991, the version that is still in force today.
With the passage of the amended Broadcasting Act in 1968, Parliament created the Canadian Radio and Television Commission (CRTC), an arm's-length agency responsible for regulating Canadian broadcasting.1 The Commission's stated mandate is: "to maintain a delicate balance — in the public interest — between the cultural, social and economic goals of the legislation on broadcasting."2 Its decisions have consistently served as an important baseline for discussions related to the future of the broadcasting sector, the role of policy, and the contributions that can be made to economic welfare, social interaction and communication.
Over the ten years since the introduction of the Broadcasting Act of 1991, advances in new communications technologies have opened up new possibilities for broadcasting, both in Canada and around the world. During this same period, neither the Department of Canadian Heritage nor its Standing Committee has undertaken a comprehensive consideration of the implications of these changes for the Canadian broadcasting system.
It is apparent, therefore, that there is a pressing need for the Standing Committee to review key aspects of the Broadcasting Act if it is to determine whether the Act remains an effective instrument for the CRTC to deal with the challenges facing the broadcasting industry and its stakeholders. In this regard, the Committee will place an emphasis on the following objectives from Section 3(d) of the Broadcasting Act:
The Canadian broadcasting system should:
| • | serve to safeguard, enrich and strengthen the cultural, political, social and economic fabric of Canada; |
| • | encourage the development of Canadian expression by providing a wide range of programming that reflects Canadian attitudes, opinions, ideas, values and artistic creativity, by displaying Canadian talent in entertainment programming and by offering information and analysis concerning Canada and other countries from a Canadian point of view; |
| • | through its programming and the employment opportunities arising out of its operations, serve the needs and interests, and reflect the circumstances and aspirations, of Canadian men, women and children, including equal rights, the linguistic duality and multicultural and multiracial nature of Canadian society and the special place of aboriginal peoples within that society; and |
| • | be readily adaptable to scientific and technological change.3 |
Suggested Study Themes
To carry out its study, the Standing Committee has identified a set of key themes that it would like to address during this process. It does not consider itself limited by these topics, but anticipates that they will assist individuals and groups making submissions to the Standing Committee to situate more easily their experiences and perspectives within the scope of the present study.
| 1. | Context: | The evolution of broadcasting technologies
Globalization
New media
International perspectives |
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| 2. | Cultural Diversity: | Canadian content
French-language broadcasting
English-language broadcasting
Cultural diversity and minority broadcasting
Regional representation
Community television
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| 3. | Broadcasting Policy: | The development of Canada's broadcasting policy
The role of the federal government
The CRTC's role
Potential elements for new or revised legislation
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| 4. | Ownership: | Patterns of ownership
Cross-media ownership
Vertical integration
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| 5. | Public/Private Sector: | The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
Provincial broadcasting
Cable and satellite services
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| 6. | Production/ Distribution: | Evolving production and distribution methods
Copyright questions
Specialty services
Internet
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Suggested Study Questions
With the above themes in mind, the Standing Committee has identified two major subject areas:
(1) The present state of the Canadian broadcasting system, and
(2) Future directions for the Canadian broadcasting system
Those individuals presenting briefs and/or appearing before the Committee are asked to select from the list of key themes provided in the previous section when addressing the following questions pertaining to these two subject areas. Successful Parliamentary studies depend on outside individuals, companies and groups providing detailed information, some of which may be gathered solely for the Parliamentary study. The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage seeks focused information on the Canadian broadcasting system, especially the state and future of Canadian content and cultural diversity in that system. To this end, researchers with the Committee will follow up briefs and contact potential witnesses to help obtain the needed, detailed information and to increase the efficiency of the study.
A. The Present State of the Canadian Broadcasting System
For over three quarters of a century Canada has wrestled with the problem of maintaining a Canadian identity in a constantly changing world. Trying to find a legislative or regulatory framework that would allow a balancing of cultural, social and economic concerns has led to the current system that combines public and private radio and television broadcasters. With these factors in mind, the Standing Committee has identified the following questions related to the present state of the Canadian broadcasting system:
1. Canadian Content and Cultural Diversity
| • | Are present policies or programs sufficient and appropriate to deal with the relationship between cultural policies and trade policies? |
| • | Is the method of determining Canadian content still appropriate in relation to new media? |
| • | We frequently hear about the "multi-channel universe." In this multi-channel universe, consumers have access to more programs — foreign programs, in particular — than ever before. What are the implications for the promotion of distinctively Canadian content? |
| • | One of the goals of the Broadcasting Act, according to section 3(d)(i), is to "safeguard, enrich, and strengthen the cultural ... fabric of Canada." From your standpoint, what exactly is "the cultural fabric of Canada" and is it possible to draft content requirements that will, in fact, safeguard, enrich and strengthen it? |
| • | What costs are borne by broadcasters because of Canadian content regulations? |
| • | In light of recent trends, how can Canada maintain and promote a distinctive sense of local, regional, national and cultural identity while still reaping any possible benefits of changes to the broadcasting system? |
2. New Technologies
| • | What are the changes in technology that have most significantly changed or are changing Canadian broadcasting? |
| • | Has the change to new technology been more or less rapid than in other countries? |
| • | How can any differences be explained? |
| • | To what extent have recent developments in new communications technologies: |
| a. | disrupted the balance among cultural, social and economic concerns in the broadcasting system? |
| b. | affected the Canadian broadcasting system as a whole? |
| c. | affected the public/private mix in Canadian broadcasting? |
3. Globalization
| • | To what extent has the trend towards increased globalization: |
| a. | disrupted the balance among cultural, social and economic concerns in the broadcasting system? |
| b. | affected the Canadian broadcasting system as a whole? |
| c. | affected the public/private mix in Canadian broadcasting? |
4. Ownership
| • | Will technological change, especially the growing importance of the borderless Internet, undermine current ownership restrictions in broadcasting? |
| • | Will globalization undermine current ownership restrictions in broadcasting? |
| • | How has growing concentration of media ownership affected broadcasting? |
| • | How has growing cross-media ownership affected broadcasting? |
B. Future Directions for the Canadian Broadcasting System
The current radio and television broadcasting system in Canada includes a powerful public broadcaster, regulated private broadcasters and carriers, content requirements and foreign ownership restrictions. In light of today's increasingly globalized communications environment, the Standing Committee has identified the following questions related to future directions for the Canadian broadcasting system:
1. Canadian Content and Cultural Diversity
| • | How effective is the current Canadian content quota system in promoting distinctively Canadian programming in an era of digital channels and Internet-based programming? |
| • | How effective is the current points system (based on the nationality of inputs — i.e., writers, producers, actors, directors, etc.) in the production of distinctively Canadian output? |
| • | How can Canadian content requirements remain viable in the evolving broadcasting environment? |
| • | How can the new media be used to promote Canadian creators both in Canada and beyond our borders? |
2. The Public/Private Sectors
| • | Should the current public/private mix in Canadian broadcasting be maintained or modified? |
| • | What should be the continuing role of the CBC and private broadcasters within such a public/private mix? |
| • | Should the CBC form alliances with private broadcasters if size becomes a requirement for survival in broadcasting? |
| • | What are the implications for competition policy if the CBC forms alliances with private broadcasters? |
3. Globalization
| • | Should foreign broadcasters and media conglomerates play a role in the evolving Canadian broadcasting system? If yes, what role should they play? |
| • | What are the implications of expanded trade treaties for: |
| • | Canadian content requirements? |
| • | subsidies to Canadian creators? |
4. Ownership
| • | Should Canadian firms form alliances with foreign firms if size becomes a requirement for survival in broadcasting? |
| • | What measures are required to maintain a distinctively Canadian broadcasting system? |
5. Broadcasting Policy
| • | Should the convergence of broadcasting and telecommunications lead to a revamped CRTC or to a new and different type of regulator? |
| • | Will broadcast licensing become a thing of the past in an era of digital channels and Internet-based programming? |
| • | How can the Canadian broadcasting system be adapted to work in an era of increased globalization? |
| • | How can existing legislation be amended and updated to take into account changes in broadcasting? |
| • | How can the Canadian broadcasting system be adapted to ensure a balance among cultural, social and economic concerns? |
| • | How does the split supervision of broadcasting activities by the Departments of Canadian Heritage and Industry affect cultural issues covered by the Broadcasting Act and other cultural policies and programs? |
| 1 | In 1976, the CRTC was renamed the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission to reflect the expansion of its jurisdiction to include common carriers. |
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