NEWS RELEASES
RCI TO BE PART OF NEW INTERNATIONAL INFORMATION STRATEGY
December 12, 1996 No. 243
RCI TO BE PART OF NEW INTERNATIONAL INFORMATION
STRATEGY
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Canadian Heritage Sheila Copps and Foreign
Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy today announced that government funding has been
identified to allow for the continued operation of Radio Canada International
(RCI).
Without government funding, RCI would have ceased operations March 31, 1997,
following a decision by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation to terminate
financing of Canada's international radio broadcaster.
"RCI has been an important asset for Canada," said Mr. Axworthy. "It would have
been a great loss to see it disappear at the very moment we are undertaking the
development of the Canadian International Information Strategy to plan how we can
best use new technologies to deliver our messages, transmit our values and support
both our trade and development assistance programs abroad."
"Often the best sense of who we are as Canadians comes from the impressions of
people who live outside our country," said Ms. Copps. "Radio Canada International
projects the best of Canada and its ideals around the world. I am proud that we
have been able to save RCI."
"The new funding arrangement for RCI will help us deal with the immediate future
while we work on the broader framework," Mr. Axworthy noted. "I am convinced that
RCI can evolve in such a way as to keep it an important instrument in the new
information strategy."
Funding for this initiative is from within the existing fiscal framework.
This one-year funding arrangement takes effect April 1. RCI's $16-million budget
will be covered by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
(DFAIT) and the Department of Canadian Heritage (DCH), which will each contribute
up to $6 million. The balance will come from the Canadian International
Development Agency (CIDA) and the Department of National Defence (DND).
For the current fiscal year, half of RCI's $16-million budget is provided by the
CBC, with the balance coming from CIDA, DFAIT, DCH and DND.
RCI broadcasts to Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, the United
States, Asia and the Caribbean. It reaches audiences through shortwave and
satellite, and by partnership agreements with local broadcasters. It is also
available on the Internet. In addition to English and French, RCI broadcasts in
five foreign languages: Arabic, Mandarin, Ukrainian, Spanish and Russian.
The Canadian International Information Strategy is a government-wide approach
being developed under the leadership of the Department of Foreign Affairs and
International Trade in conjunction with the private sector to convey Canada's
messages abroad. Using modern technologies, including satellite transmission and
electronic networks, the strategy aims to establish a permanent, technically
sophisticated and cost-effective presence that will carry Canada's messages to the
world well into the 21st century.
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For further information, media representatives may contact:
Catherine Lappe
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
(613) 995-1851
Julia Arnsby
Press Secretary
Office of the Deputy Prime Minister
and Minister of Canadian Heritage
(819) 997-7788
Media Relations Office
Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade
(613) 995-1874
This document is also available on the Department's Internet site:
http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca
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