Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage

HOUSE OF COMMONS CHAMBRE DES COMMUNES OTTAWA, CANADA K1A 0A6

Comité permanent du patrimoine canadien

For immediate release

Ottawa, May 10, 2001 - The House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage announced today the launch of an 18-month study on the state of the Canadian broadcasting system. As with previous studies conducted by the Committee, the issues of Canadian content and cultural diversity will be central considerations. Over the past few months the Committee has discussed at length the implications of the increasingly globalized communications environment on broadcasting, both in Canada and around the world. It has concluded that there is a pressing need to review key aspects of the Broadcasting Act of 1991 to determine whether the Act remains an effective instrument to deal with challenges faced by the broadcasting industry and its stakeholders. To carry out its study, the Standing Committee has identified six themes that it would like to explore in depth. These are: contextual considerations, cultural diversity, broadcasting policy, ownership, the private-public sector mix, and production and distribution. The Committee has also identified two major subject areas. 1. The present state of the Canadian broadcasting system; and 2. Future directions for the Canadian broadcasting system. A set of focussed questions related to the above themes and subject areas have been identified by the Committee and are appended to this release. Since these questions will be the focus of the Committee’s study, those individuals who are interested in presenting briefs and/or appearing before the Committee are asked to address these questions, where applicable. Beginning in September 2001, the Committee will hold televised, round table discussions across the country with as broad a range of witnesses as possible in order to gather information on Canada’s broadcasting system. The Committee invites all individuals or groups who wish to be considered as witnesses for this study to indicate their interest before that time. To facilitate open dialogue between Committee members, witnesses, the media and the general public, it has been decided to create a special website for the Canadian broadcasting study. It is therefore requested that all briefs be submitted in electronic form, whenever possible. The website’s official launch will be announced at a later date. This news release and the terms of reference for this study are available online at: /Error/Error.asp"1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4">