HERI Committee Report

THE STATE OF
THE SYSTEM

Chapter 10
Northern and Aboriginal Broadcasting

A. Background

Northern broadcasting traces its origins to the Second World War, when Canadian and American armed forces personnel established small radio stations in the North. Thereafter, CBC's English-language radio network supplied recorded programs to these small stations, beginning in 1950. In 1958, Parliament accepted a formal proposal submitted by the Corporation to create a Northern Service and allocated funds for this purpose. The CRTC also licenced community radio stations in the North in 1970, and a northern radio network in 1981.

By 1985, 250 community radio stations were serving the North, many by local native communications societies. From the outset, many Northerners had serious concerns over the availability and programming content of the services they were receiving. This is because most programs were primarily in English, with limited reflection of native peoples and their lifestyles. For these reasons, in 1979, the CRTC established a committee on the Extension of Service to Northern and Remote Communities, which ultimately recommended that the federal government provide funding to develop Aboriginal broadcasting networks to meet Canada's obligation to provide the country's indigenous peoples with opportunities to preserve their language and culture.

In 1981, the Commission licenced a television network to serve Northern communities, to be carried by CANCOM, a new satellite distribution service that it had also licenced that same year. Two years later, the federal government introduced a policy on Northern broadcasting, and created the Northern Native Broadcast Access Program (NNBAP) to fund the production of Aboriginal programming. The NNBAP's purpose was "to ensure that native broadcasters have fair access to a reasonable amount of quality broadcast time" and to "improve the quality and quantity of access by northern native broadcasters to the Canadian broadcasting system."¹ To do so it offered funding to 13 regions in Northern Canada and their native communications societies, provided they had reached distribution agreements with existing broadcasters, such as the CBC.

While six native communications societies chose to concentrate on radio programming, seven undertook television production, producing approximately 10 hours per week of programming content. Continued program distribution problems, however, finally led the CRTC to issue a policy on native broadcasting that applied to the entire country, rather than to Northern Canada alone; that said, funding problems remained.

It was not until the creation of Television Northern Canada Incorporated (TVNC) in 1991 that there was a specifically Aboriginal network, by and for Aboriginal peoples — the first of its kind in the world. The network emphasized cultural, social, political, and educational programming of interest to Aboriginal peoples residing north of the 55th latitude.

It was also in 1991 that Section 3 of the Broadcasting Act was amended to state that: "the Canadian broadcasting system should ... reflect ... the special place of Aboriginal peoples within [Canadian] society." Furthermore, "programming that reflects the Aboriginal cultures of Canada should be provided within the Canadian broadcasting system as resources become available for the purpose."

In response to these two references the CRTC confirmed in 1998 that a national Aboriginal channel should be "widely available throughout Canada in order to serve the diverse needs of the various Aboriginal communities, as well as other Canadians."² Soon thereafter, TVNC was granted a licence to operate The Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN).³

Apart from APTN's national service there are a further 10 originating and 95 rebroadcasting native television stations. The CRTC has also licenced two native television networks: Native Communications Inc. and Wawatay Native Communications.

As for Aboriginal radio, there were 37 licenced radio stations (Type B) operating in markets where there is at least one other commercial AM or FM licenced radio station in 2001. The number of Aboriginal radio stations operating in markets where no other commercial radio station operates (Type A) is unknown, as these stations, since 1998, have not been required by the CRTC to hold a broadcasting licence.

In 1986 the Caplan-Sauvageau Task Force Report reminded Canadians that:

Native people have special rights by virtue of their Aboriginal status. These rights, now enshrined in the Canadian Constitution, are a part of the laws, customs and treaties of the land. Although not fully defined, Aboriginal rights are certain to include a protection and enhancement of native languages and culture.⁴

The Committee believes that this perspective holds as much relevance today.

B. What the Committee Heard

In Halifax, the Committee was told by Mr. Gary Farmer (Aboriginal Voices Radio Inc.) that:

The Canadian native broadcasting system should be a place where all Canadians in every region of the country, rural and urban, French and English, can see a reflection of Aboriginal Canada;⁵

It was also his view that broadcasting policy and legislation should affirm: "the priority of developing and maintaining a Canada-wide native-controlled broadcasting system."⁶ Furthermore, "Canadian native broadcasting [must] be recognized as a cornerstone of Canadian programming in the Canadian broadcasting system."⁷

The Committee heard testimony from Northern and Aboriginal broadcasters and programmers in Winnipeg, Halifax, and Ottawa. Chapter 7 reviews the significance of the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN) and the challenges it faces in today's fragmented broadcasting environment. This section reviews general issues raised by witnesses concerning a lack of support to non-APTN broadcasting organizations that serve Northern and/or Aboriginal communities.

The challenges faced by Canada's Northern and Aboriginal broadcasting operations were simple: money, equipment, travel, training, and predictable (stable) funding. The testimony of Mr. Paul Quassa, senior producer for the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation, captures well the sense of frustration that was expressed by many witnesses:

I'm proud of what we are doing at IBC. I am proud of the people who work for IBC and overcome obstacles day after day in order to get their shows done. We deal with equipment that is old and that breaks down. It often must be sent to southern cities to be fixed, and sometimes it takes months until we see it again. A lot of our equipment cannot even be fixed anymore; parts no longer exist. We deal with equipment that is subjected to the harshest of weather conditions. We work in buildings that were never intended to be television facilities of any fashion. Although we are creative, there is only so much you can do to turn an old pinball hall into a television studio.

We deal with the most expensive travel costs in this country. We have 26 communities in Nunavut that should be reflected in our shows, but each year we are only able to travel to a few communities and usually only for a short time.

We are limited in our access to training. There are no broadcast training facilities or journalism schools in Nunavut. There are no seminars or workshops in our industry unless we organize and pay for all associated costs ourselves.

IBC staff are generally paid below what is industry standard anywhere in the country, and we live in an area where everything costs twice as much as anywhere else. We do not have the benefits that major employers in Nunavut give, such as housing, pension plans, vacation assistance, etc. We do not have stability in our funding. Our ability to plan is limited and our job security is limited.⁸

Other obstacles noted by witnesses included having to cope with a diversity of languages and problems with archival storage.

The cultural and educational nature of Aboriginal Broadcasting was emphasized by Ms. Shirley Adamson, General Manager of Northern Native Broadcasting, Yukon:

For the Yukon first nations people, who have an oral tradition, these media were quickly embraced. Each day we provide original programming through which our people can enjoy, learn from, and be inspired by each other's talents and stories. Our independent news and current affairs coverage enables all Yukoners to have an informed and educated view of a range of contemporary issues from an Aboriginal perspective.

We have an impressive audio and video archive that documents a disappearing era in the history of our people and the development of a new, contemporary form of Aboriginal culture that combines our heritage with an active role in Yukon and Canadian society.

Of the eight dialects spoken in the Yukon, at least five are used continually in our programming. The immersion underpins the teachings of languages and cultures in our homes and in our schools.⁹

Mr. Ramond Menarick, President of the James Bay Cree Communications Society, also highlighted the educational and cultural elements of Northern and Aboriginal broadcasting:

Our elders have taught us that our language is the foundation of our culture, and in order to sustain it we cannot take it for granted but must use it continuously. In order to maintain this we must use the influence of radio media. Of the many things we have taken from the non-native culture, the radio is one of the most important.¹⁰

In Northern regions, independent, not-for-profit, broadcasting organizations are commonplace. In many respects, these various societies (such as the Société de communication Atikamekw-Montagnais (SOCAM)) are not unlike some of the community radio networks (such as the Réseau francophone d'Amérique) that appeared before the Committee. This is further evidence of how the boundaries between community, local and regional programming can blur.

At the same time, the Committee learned that Northern and native communications societies must often deal with a full range of communications needs. For example, SOCAM's Director General, Mr. Bernard Hervieux, told the Committee that:

The SOCAM wants to improve communications between the various communities through newspapers, magazines, radio and television programs, films, and basically any written, spoken or visual communications tools; provide live broadcasting of news programs on Aboriginal issues pertaining to culture, the economy and community life in the language of each of those two nations; involve community radio stations in the business' organizational activities; provide technical support and training to local stations to ensure proper rebroadcasting of the network's programs; launch projects designed to improve communications and relationships between Aboriginal peoples, between the two nations and between member communities by using new information technologies and communications; operate a broadcasting network for 14 local member stations; establish cooperative and complementary ties with local community radio stations; organize adequate programming that reflects the Atikamekw and Innu culture; inform the locals of major news events that directly affect them; provide local radio stations and their staff with adequate equipment, tools and communication techniques; implement training programs; provide translation and interpretation services; design a television production centre; develop community access via Internet to new information technologies and communications technologies by implementing multimedia access centres for communities — and I could name 23 or 24 communities in Quebec —; implement communication services and infrastructures to support initiatives pertaining to health, learning and community access to cover social and community activities...¹¹

Making matters worse, these responsibilities are often exacerbated by virtue of their geographic isolation. For example, the CBC's Regional Director, Ms. Cathie Bolstad, told the Committee about the problem of non-carriage on satellite, which has been made worse as cable operators have abandoned remote areas. She noted that 39% of TV households in the North subscribe to either StarChoice or ExpressVu; as a result, they do not receive CBC North programming.

Ms. Elizabeth Sabet-Biscaye, Executive Director of the Native Communications Society of the Western N.W.T., also described the need and the challenge for her people:

Traditionally, we are storytellers. Radio, TV, and in some cases the newspapers give us the medium to do so effectively, in a lot of cases in our own language. Unfortunately, because of limited funding and other limited resources, we are continually struggling to maintain this very critical service. Challenges include lack of or outdated equipment, diverse languages, and various levels of language development.¹²

Interestingly, Canada's Northern and Aboriginal broadcasters described their cultural struggle as being analogous to that which Canada faces internationally. As Ms. Shirley Adamson explained:

Change is constant for first nations. We're almost overwhelmed with the cultures and languages of other people. We struggle daily to maintain our identity. Because of that, we understand the desire of Canada to seek ways to safeguard, enrich, and strengthen what they see as their cultural fabric. We know also that the fabric is not whole without the languages and cultures of first nations woven in.¹³

In short, Northern and Aboriginal broadcasters from all regions asked for more direct support from government. Such support, they explained, is vital to their survival. Indeed, as Ms. Catherine Ann Martin of APTN noted, broadcasting is "a medium that's helping us to make sure that the future, and seven generations ahead of us, will have something from our people today." ¹⁴

C. Proposed Solutions

The Committee strongly believes that the present wording of section 3.(1)(o) of the Broadcasting Act, stating "programming that reflects the Aboriginal cultures of Canada should be provided within the Canadian broadcasting system as resources become available for the purpose;" is discriminatory. The use of the qualifying phrase "as resources become available for the purpose" leaves the impression that broadcasting that reflects the Aboriginal cultures of Canada is of diminished importance. This detracts from the declared policy statement in section 3.(1)(d)(iii) of the Broadcasting Act that "the Canadian broadcasting system should reflect the special place of Aboriginal peoples within Canadian society."

As noted above, Northern and Aboriginal broadcasters identified specific problems about replacement costs, infrastructure upgrades, programming support, training, access and preservation. The Committee is concerned, however, that the situation is much worse than witnesses indicated. For example, 11 of 96 community sites are now off the air and the actual cost of maintenance and equipment replacement is approximately $1 million more per year than available federal funds support.¹⁵ The Committee is gravely concerned by this information and believes that there is a pressing need to address this situation as soon as possible.

The Committee recognizes that Canada's Northern and native broadcasters make a unique contribution to Canadian culture. Furthermore, it believes that these broadcasters should be recognized for their commitment to the preservation and enhancement of Canada's Aboriginal cultures, languages and people. With this in mind, the Committee makes the following recommendations:¹⁶

Non-discriminatory policy

Capital Costs

Funding

Training

Evaluation

Carriage

Endnotes