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Results: 1 - 15 of 446
View Karina Gould Profile
Lib. (ON)
Thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you to the committee for inviting me back here today. I am pleased to be here to discuss the main estimates of 2019-20 for the independent Leaders' Debates Commission.
I am grateful to be joined by Mr. Al Sutherland, Assistant Secretary to the Cabinet, Machinery of Government and Democratic Institutions, as well as Mr. Matthew Shea, Assistant Deputy Minister for Corporate Services.
During my February 19 appearance before this committee, I reiterated the essential role that leaders' debates play in Canada's democracy, and I emphasized that such debates should be organized in a manner that puts the public interest first.
The commission is exercising its independence and impartiality in executing its primary mandate, which is to organize two leaders debates, one in each official language, in advance of the 2019 general election, and in related spending. Through these estimates, the commission is requesting $4.6 million to organize these debates.
The commission, led by the Right Honourable David Johnston, has established a small secretariat made up of Michel Cormier, Executive Director, Stephen Wallace, Senior Advisor, and four other staff members.
On March 22, 2019, the members of its advisory board were announced, and on March 25 it held its first in-person meeting with the commissioner and the executive director. The board will provide advice to the commissioner on how to carry out its mandate. It is composed of seven individuals who reflect gender balance, Canada's diversity, and a broad swath of political affiliations and expertise.
The commission has established a web presence, and on April 4 it launched a request for interest related to debates production, which informed a full request for proposals that was issued earlier this week.
Additional costs are expected for the contracting of a production entity to produce and broadcast the debates, the ongoing operation of the advisory board, awareness raising and engagement of Canadians, and administrative costs.
As the members around the table will know, the commission has the independence to determine how best to spend the operating funds it has been allocated while remaining within the funding envelope.
In his recent appearance before this committee on May 2, 2019, the debates commissioner, the Right Honourable David Johnston, reiterated his intention and duty to use funding in a responsible manner. Furthermore, he emphasized that the funding being sought is an “up to” amount and that the commission will ensure it operates cost-effectively in all of its work.
Finally, the Order in Council setting the mandate of the commission is clear: the Leaders’ Debates Commission is to be guided by the pursuit of the public interest and by the principles of independence, impartiality and cost-effectiveness.
The commission provides a unique opportunity for Canadians to hear from those looking to lead the country, from reliable, impartial sources.
As we know, online disinformation is something we will all contend with leading up to the next election.
The leaders' debates become even more important this year as they provide a venue to communicate clear and reliable information that is accessible to everyone at the same time.
I am pleased to answer any questions members may have on this topic.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
View Linda Lapointe Profile
Lib. (QC)
You spoke about cost-effectiveness. There will be a leaders' debate in French and one in English. As we know, the leaders will be asked to participate. Do you know if all television networks purchase the rights? I am thinking in particular of Radio-Canada, TVA and CPAC.
View Karina Gould Profile
Lib. (ON)
No. The Order in Council states the following.
The feed has to be free. It has to be made available to any organization free of charge. That was done specifically and purposefully. One of the things we heard through the consultations is that these debates should be accessible to any Canadian who is interested in them, and they should be made easily available. Making the feed free of charge will accomplish that goal.
View Linda Lapointe Profile
Lib. (QC)
The commission's main mandate is to make the debate accessible to everyone, including members of minority language communities and members of the linguistic majority, whether English or French. Not all people will necessarily have access to electronic tools. I imagine they will ensure that the debate will be on the radio.
View Karina Gould Profile
Lib. (ON)
That is the objective.
The dissemination of the debates themselves will be available. The only requirement, as listed in the order in council, is to ensure the integrity of the debates. Otherwise, the feed will be made available.
That's really up to Canadian entities, organizations and broadcasters as to how they choose to use that.
View Stephanie Kusie Profile
CPC (AB)
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
The irony of this is that you've mentioned over and over again the character and integrity of the individual who was chosen, Mr. David Johnston. The sadness and the irony of this is that, if you had submitted to a fair and transparent process in an effort to choose him, you wouldn't have had the opportunity to question, not him, but the procedure of how he was chosen. I think that's truly a disservice to him. I find what we're discussing incredibly ironic. There's no doubt as to the integrity and the experience and the resumé of Mr. Johnston. It's the process, and that was your process. Really, it's your process that has created this unfortunate conversation.
I want to turn to the producer. It will be a producer organizing the debates rather than the commission, and it's likely to be a media consortium. Your government essentially created the debates commission and funded it with $5.5 million in a year where we have a fourth consecutive deficit, a year when the budget was supposed to be balanced, according to the Prime Minister. Yet how can we be sure that it will not be significantly different from previous debates that have been held, if there is in fact this consortium?
I see media in the room here today. I'm going to ask if you think it should be the role of the commission and thus the government, your government, to participate in your organization and broadcasting.
View Karina Gould Profile
Lib. (ON)
On your first question with regard to the $5.5 million, it's important to note that this is a ceiling amount. That is an up-to amount. One of the important things we wanted to ensure was that the commission had sufficient resources to produce a debate that was of high quality, that reached journalistic standards, and that was available and accessible to Canadians.
Something we heard throughout the consultation process was that it was necessary to ensure that sufficient resources were made available. Additionally, it's also to ensure that the feed can also be public and free to anyone who wants to use it.
View Stephanie Kusie Profile
CPC (AB)
Was this because you didn't trust the media? Was it because you didn't think they were capable of doing something they've done for years?
View Karina Gould Profile
Lib. (ON)
No, that is absolutely not the case. In fact, I have reiterated on numerous occasions the very important role that media play in our democracy, particularly our traditional mainstream medium. We would not have this wonderful democracy we have without the incredible journalists across the country who hold governments to account.
View Stephanie Kusie Profile
CPC (AB)
Yet it would seem that you're trying to control them through the use of this commission.
View Karina Gould Profile
Lib. (ON)
That is not the case at all. That may be your take on things, but this commission is created to ensure that these debates are widely available. The primary purpose of this, Ms. Kusie, as I have reiterated on countless occasions, is to ensure that the public interest is the primary driver behind all of this. It's to ensure that it is as widely disseminated as possible.
We saw in 2015 how one political leader was able to change, for political advantage, the nature of the debates, where they were disseminated, and where they were broadcast.
The fact of the matter is that Canadians have come to rely on leaders debates as an important political moment where they make decisions, where they look at their political leaders in spontaneous moments, where they get to see how they interact. They get to make decisions as to who they want to lead them.
View Stephanie Kusie Profile
CPC (AB)
But if it's a producer and ultimately a consortium, aren't you concerned that smaller media organizations are likely to be left out?
There are so many smaller media organizations, platforms, and there is very much the possibility of them not being a part of this democratic process as a result of this motion.
View Karina Gould Profile
Lib. (ON)
I would point you to the RFP that was released, and I would note that this was created by the commission.
The point, and what's in the order in council, is specifically to bring as many diverse participants in as possible. They're going to make that decision. The commissioner will make that decision, based on advice from the advisory council that he has put in place. It is specifically to ensure that this as accessible and inclusive a process as possible.
View Julie Dabrusin Profile
Lib. (ON)
We are beginning our 155th meeting of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. Today we have a briefing on the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission's report. It is not named here, but I believe we are referring to the “Harnessing Change” report.
With us from the CRTC, we have Scott Hutton, executive director of broadcasting, and Sheehan Carter, director of television programming. Please begin with your presentation.
Scott Hutton
View Scott Hutton Profile
Scott Hutton
2019-05-02 15:27
Thank you, Madam Chair, for this invitation to discuss the report titled “Harnessing Change: The Future of Programming Distribution in Canada”.
I'll skip the introductions, as the chair already went through them, but I'll just underscore that Sheehan is pronounced “Shawn”.
We are pleased to support the committee's important work on shaping the future of Canada's media industries. At the government's request, the CRTC prepared the Harnessing Change report to evaluate the future of our environment and how it would support a vibrant domestic market for the creation and distribution of audiovisual programming. The report is intended to inform the government's review of communications legislation and the work of the legislative review panel.
It describes the many benefits and opportunities generated by digital technologies. Canadians can now access more content from more places around the world than ever before. Innovative services succeed by catering to this demand. New digital tools make it easier to create high-quality audio and video content and make it available globally. The number of content buyers continues to increase, and data analytics make it possible to learn more than ever before about the relationship between content and audiences.
The report analyzes traditional and digital platforms in terms of the relative level of maturity and long-term sustainability. In the audio market, for instance, radio is mature and is adapting to the shifts in consumer habits. However, new online services such as Spotify are experiencing rapid growth.
The market for video content is also fragmented. Conventional broadcast television is on the decline, while online services and user-uploaded content continue to attract a growing number of subscribers.
Mature distribution models such as cable, satellite and fibre services will face increased competition, but they are making investments in new technology.
As online markets and distribution models for both video and audio continue to change, it will become increasingly difficult to divide them into clear-cut categories.
And while there are numerous opportunities for Canadians, the content they make and enjoy watching risks being lost among all the digital options at their fingertips. Moreover, as we watch less traditional television, there may be impacts on the underlying support systems used to create much of the video content we enjoy today, including news programming.
One of the report's key findings is that video and audio streaming account for two-thirds of all online data traffic on North America's fixed networks and one-third of all data on mobile networks. We expect that these percentages will only continue to grow, as more Canadians have access to faster broadband service and larger mobile wireless data plans.
The preferences of people under the age of 35 give us a sense of what the future holds. This group is three times more likely than older Canadians to watch video online, for instance. And younger people are less likely to subscribe to traditional television services, such as cable and satellite. At the same time, streaming services such as Spotify and Netflix continue to draw greater numbers of subscribers both young and old.
Digital services are clearly on a growth trajectory and will play a more important role in the years ahead. It is important to keep in mind, however, that traditional services are mature businesses. Despite recent declines, they are popular with Canadians, and will continue to evolve and remain viable for the foreseeable future. The main area of concern is for services whose business models are declining. Conventional television, for instance, is facing considerable challenges and may not remain viable due to the erosion of advertising revenues.
These trends have serious implications, not only for Canada's media industry, but on our regulatory and policy framework's ability to meet its objectives. In essence, the current framework was designed for another time—a closed system of traditional broadcast services.
It is not sufficiently adaptable to meet the challenges of an era marked by ready access to streamed content.
As the members of this committee recognize, the CRTC and the report we produced view these through a regulatory lens. Canada's regulatory regime strives to achieve specific policy goals, such as to foster the production and accessibility of Canadian content, including news programming.
Licensing is the principal mechanism used to achieve stated policy goals. Licences for most television service providers, for instance, require the investment of prescribed percentages of revenue in the production of Canadian content.
Given these realities, the report considers four regulatory approaches: the status quo, deregulation, applying existing rules to digital players, and designing and implementing an entirely new approach.
The report concludes that the first three are inadequate in light of the current and emerging challenges. New tools and approaches are required to ensure a vibrant Canadian media production industry—innovative tools and techniques that exploit the opportunities presented by current and emerging technologies.
The process to design a more effective regulatory regime must begin by identifying clear policy goals. The Harnessing report suggests three.
First, we need to foster both the production and promotion of Canadian content, including news programming. Moreover, in a digital age, discoverability is essential to success.
Second, we must recognize that there are social and cultural responsibilities associated with operating in Canada, and all parties should contribute to ensure that Canadians benefit and that all players can compete fairly and effectively—however, in an equitable manner.
Furthermore, and third, we need to create a nimble and innovative regime that can be readily adaptable to change.
The last of these goals is particularly important over the long term. Just as those who designed Canada's current regime could not have imagined today's digitized world, we cannot foresee all of the changes that will arrive in the future. We must have flexible tools to adapt to new realities.
The report concludes by describing a series of potential policy options—new mechanisms that could help achieve the stated goals. To be effective, the new policy requires legislative support, including the regulatory authorities needed to ensure compliance. This could include the authority to impose administrative monetary penalties in instances of non-compliance.
Ultimately, to ensure that the broadcasting industry continues to thrive, Canada must have a regulatory regime that encourages innovation and delivers the content that Canadians want.
While the panel conducts its review, the CRTC continues to look forward and fulfill its mandate for the benefit of Canadians. Our current activities are focused on assisting the broadcasting system to adapt to the digital environment and develop new approaches and tools. These activities include a review of the policy for indigenous broadcasting to ensure that indigenous communities have access to content that reflects them as well as the tools to produce it.
As a radio transforms itself in the digital environment, the CRTC will also review its commercial radio policy with the intention of developing renewed approaches that will more effectively support artists and content development, including news and information. Work is also underway to implement a digital monitoring system for radio and update the policy on Canadian programming expenditures in light of digital media. These are essential steps in improving the ways we monitor and understand how the digital environment is evolving so as to regulate as effectively as possible in the future.
In addition, we will soon initiate the process to renew the radio and television licenses of the CBC and Radio-Canada. This will enable us to examine ways it can move forward in the digital environment while continuing to fulfil its mandate to Canadians.
We'll do our best to answer your questions. Thank you.
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