CHPC Committee Report

Pursuant to the order of reference adopted by the House of Commons on October 29, 2024, the Committee has studied the eighth report of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, which was presented to the House of Commons on December 12, 2023. As provided by the order of reference, the Committee studied “the consequences of defunding the CBC and Radio-Canada, including how the Liberal threat to cut funding led to hundreds of CBC-Radio-Canada job cuts and the effects on smaller communities, as promised by the Leader of the Official Opposition.”

Whereas paragraph 3(1)(l) of the Broadcasting Act states that CBC/Radio-Canada (the Corporation), as the national public broadcaster, “should provide broadcasting services incorporating a wide range of programming that informs, enlightens and entertains”;

Whereas multiple witnesses who appeared before the Committee pointed out that, under paragraph 3(1)(m) of the Act, the Corporation’s programming should

(i) be predominantly and distinctively Canadian,

(ii) reflect Canada and its regions to national and regional audiences, while serving the special needs of those regions,

(iii) actively contribute to the flow and exchange of cultural expression,

(iv) be in English and in French, reflecting the different needs and circumstances of each official language community, including the specific needs and interests of official language minority communities,

(v) strive to be of equivalent quality in English and in French,

(vi) contribute to shared national consciousness and identity,

(vii) be made available throughout Canada by the most appropriate and efficient means and as resources become available for the purpose, and

(viii) reflect the multicultural and multiracial nature of Canada;

Whereas section 35 of the Broadcasting Act establishes that CBC/Radio-Canada enjoys “journalistic, creative and programming independence … in the pursuit of its objects and in the exercise of its powers”;

Whereas an advisory committee was established to discuss with the Minister of Canadian Heritage “a range of questions dealing with funding, governance and mandate”;

Whereas most of the witnesses heard by the Committee reiterated the importance of CBC/Radio-Canada continuing to fulfill its mandate through all its services and on all its platforms;

Whereas defunding CBC/Radio-Canada would have negative consequences for certain segments of the Canadian population, including,

• Indigenous peoples and communities,
  
• rural, remote and Northern communities,
  
• official language minority communities,
  
• diaspora communities and users of Radio Canada International,
  
• racialized persons, and
  
• workers in the cultural sector and the creative industries;
  

Whereas there are news deserts in Canada and CBC/Radio-Canada is often the only outlet to offer news service in places where residents would not otherwise have access to local and regional news about community issues and institutions, and in some cases is failing to fulfill its obligations in this respect;

Whereas defunding CBC/Radio-Canada would result in fewer hours of local and regional news on its various platforms;

Whereas defunding CBC/Radio-Canada would cause thousands of its employees to be laid off and many more indirect job losses among producers, musicians, artists and technicians involved in the production and dissemination of film, radio, television and interactive media content;

Whereas the Corporation’s English- and French-language services are integrated through shared employees, equipment, technology and other infrastructure and defunding the English-language services would have negative consequences for both;

Whereas CBC/Radio-Canada is contractually obligated to broadcast the Olympic Games through 2032;

Whereas Canadians expect exemplary transparency and accountability from CBC/Radio-Canada;

Whereas the CBC/Radio-Canada board of directors has contracted a third-party human resources firm to conduct a review of the Corporation’s compensation scheme, including performance pay, whose findings will be made public;

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the Committee report the following to the House:

Recommendation 1

Recommendation 2

That the Government of Canada table the report of the Advisory Committee on the Future of CBC/Radio-Canada, which provided policy advice on a range of questions dealing with funding, governance and mandate.

Recommendation 3

That CBC/Radio-Canada’s mandate be amended to give the Corporation the means to achieve its objectives by adapting to social and technological changes, taking into account the needs and expectations of the Canadian population.

Recommendation 4

That the Government of Canada provide a substantial and lasting increase in the parliamentary appropriations for CBC/Radio-Canada, allowing it to eliminate its paid subscription services and gradually end its reliance on commercial advertising revenues.

Recommendation 5

That CBC/Radio-Canada enhance its services to “news deserts,” that is, communities whose residents have limited access to local and regional news about community issues and institutions, if any access at all. The Corporation should hire individuals to report in and on those communities rather than rely on journalists working from major cities.

Recommendation 6

That CBC/Radio-Canada take concrete measures to give Canadians living in official language minority communities and Indigenous communities access to its services in their language.

Pursuant to Standing Order 109, the Committee requests that the government table a response to the recommendations in this report.