Speeches and Interviews

February 5, 1999

The New CBC: A Commitment to Canadians

To the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce — Guylaine Saucier

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A few weeks ago, CBC Radio in Alberta launched a contest called Performance 99. This may seem a small announcement when cast against the news that happens around the world each day. But every Alberta songwriter and composer knows how small steps lead to big breaks. In May, CBC will celebrate the best of Alberta talent that emerges from that contest with two concerts, in Edmonton and Calgary. The winner will then gain national exposure with a CD recorded by CBC. Now this might sound like a plug for the CBC. Considering the source, it certainly is. But it is much more than that. Performance 99 symbolizes the efforts we all must make to expose and to nurture the rich vein of talent that runs throughout this province, and this country.

In that respect, Performance 99 is what the CBC is all about. It's about discovering fresh new voices and showcasing their talent. It's about taking risks to develop new ideas, allowing the untested and unknown to flourish alongside the seasoned mainstays. It's about introducing one Canadian to another, no matter where they live, telling our stories in our own distinctive ways — to ourselves and to the world. And yes, it's about running a multi-million-dollar business. But it's also about answering a calling.

In a fast-changing world, building bridges between regions, cultures and people can be a difficult task. Multinational giants such as Disney and VIACOM and Turner no longer knock at our door. They walk right in. A multi-channel universe has led to fragmented television audiences. In turn, that means that all conventional broadcasters, from CBC to CTV to NBC, are losing audience share to specialty channels. On the new media front, innovative technologies such as the Internet have opened a communications floodgate unimpeded by the regulations that govern radio and television. The danger in these developments is not so much that our voices will go unheard — but, worse, that they will be lost.

Guarding against this cultural blanket, where all voices are the same, is at the heart of CBC's role. Sixty-two years ago, the CBC was created as a bulwark against a wave of American culture that threatened to engulf us. Well, now the world is at our fingertips. It is not alarmist to suggest that if we are not careful, the loudest voice will prevail. No more than it is fanciful to think that there is room enough for everyone.

Choice is far from a bad thing. In fact, it pushes us all to do better. The ability to offer Canadians a range of options was a compelling reason behind CBC's decision in 1994 to stake out an early presence, in both French and English, on the Web. Today, our first-rate services extend from radio and television to cyberspace. They span radio broadcasts of lunch hour concerts, like the one each Wednesday here in Edmonton; the launch of critically acclaimed television dramas such as Da Vinci's Inquest, shot in, and featuring, Vancouver; and the creation of stimulating Web sites like CBC4Kids, a safe and fun place for children to go to on their computers. The logic makes simple business sense: a public broadcaster must be available to audiences — wherever they are, whenever they wish to be served, and in a manner that suits them best.

Our commitment to high-quality, distinctively Canadian programming has remained constant for more than six decades. In terms of production and distribution, the CBC is the only broadcaster with a presence in every corner of this country, with services in French, in English and in eight aboriginal languages. No other broadcaster builds the bridges this country needs to prosper. No other broadcaster has dedicated so many of its resources to reflecting Canadians to themselves. Consider English and French-language television, for example. The CRTC, Canada's broadcast regulator, expects the CBC to work toward an entire broadcast day with 90% Canadian content on both networks. These were long-term expectations. We plan to reach 91% Canadian content during prime time on English Television this year. As you can see from this schedule our commitment to providing Canadian content is unequivocal, unqualified and unequalled…. No other television network can say that. CBC can.

Still, a common Canadian lament is that there is no money to be made by being Canadian. No glory in digging stories out of snowbanks or miles and miles of mountains. We respectfully beg to differ. In the latest audience performance rating, we ranked in the top seven of 10 Canadian entertainment shows on French television. In the same category for English television, CBC was tops in eight of 10 shows. In 1998 alone, CBC productions won 88 Geminis and Gémeaux combined. Our television documentaries and radio concerts are internationally feted every year — and include a string of American Emmies and more Roses d'or at the Montreux Festival than any other international broadcaster.

Indeed, these are interesting times at the CBC. Many of you are well aware what we have been through. We are, after all, Canada's national public broadcaster. Our history is very much a part of yours. The difficult decisions we were forced to make are the same ones faced by virtually every business in Canada. Everyone has felt the pain of hard times. At the CBC, we absorbed a cut of more than $400 million in three short years. That meant that 30% of our annual budget disappeared, almost overnight.

Success, however, is for those who adapt to hard times, who meet the challenges before them. We found less costly ways to produce programs. We cut head office staff by two thirds. We sold our Ottawa headquarters building. In fact, our corporate management costs are now only one cent on the dollar. As Vice-chair of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, I can say without exaggeration that such a ratio is quite an accomplishment. And as a person with a long career in the private sector, I can also admit what you as members of the business community already know: it was not an easy task.

But that was yesterday. Faced with no other choice, the CBC did what Canadians expected of us. We not only survived the cuts, we defied the odds. Many expected us to shrink from our responsibilities to the regions, we have extended them. Last September, we opened a brand new radio station in Victoria, the only provincial capital without a local service of its own. We opened bureaus in Sherbrooke, Cambridge Bay, and London. At the same time, we revitalized Radio One with a 24-hour broadcast day. With 3,000 fewer people on the payroll, CBC still manages to uphold the four cardinal points that underline our mandate as Canada's public broadcaster: service, choice, high-quality Canadian content and innovation.

But every penny that Canadians spend counts. And every minute of CBC's on-air time — be it on radio, television, or computer — must meet the standards that Canadians demand of their national public broadcaster. For that matter, our product must meet, and exceed, the standards demanded of any corporation, public or private. To do that, we must be able to rely on the support of each and every Canadian. And to accomplish our goals, we must govern ourselves with an invigorating blend of prudence and creativity.

Despite the cuts, we have redoubled our efforts to be responsive to your needs. We re-adjusted how we serve minority language groups to better reflect the rich tapestry of Canadian life. To forge even stronger links to our communities, we introduced regional news on the half-hour on radio. Coming as I do from the northern Quebec town of Noranda, I am particularly proud of the work we have done to merge the talents of our anglophone and francophone communities. Programs such as Radio One's C'est La Vie provide insights into francophone life across Canada to English-speaking audiences, and the new RDI and Newsworld program Culture Shock debunks the notion of two solitudes. Popular television series such as Omertà are shown on both networks, in both languages. Award-winning children's programming is shared between our French and English television networks. Our Websites offer the best of radio and television, as well programming unique to Internet. Each service is uniquely, and unmistakably, Canadian.

To fulfill our mandate, the CBC must be flexible enough to change. We need the means to convey the diversity, the values and the concerns of all Canadians. In the not-too-distant future, when deregulation is a matter of course, when the multinational media giants have all the bandwidth they need, when the multi-channel universe has increased exponentially, the CBC will remain the bastion of Canadian culture. You do not need a crystal ball to see into the future. It is upon us.

This Spring, the CRTC will hold public consultations across Canada to gauge what Canadians want, and expect, from their public broadcaster. At the same time, and as part of the process, the CBC will go before the CRTC for its network licence renewals. For the first time ever, all of the CBC's licences will be reviewed at once. The role of the CBC will be examined from top to bottom, in each of our main four services and, ultimately, in our leading-edge new media service. Many of our ambitions for the future are already known. We joined our competitors and colleagues in the opinion that the emerging new media must not be shackled by legislation or regulations. We asked for permission to bring Canadians new French specialty channels so we may develop untapped audiences. We have made the cuts demanded of us. Now we are asking for the opportunity to grow alongside Canadians.