News Releases

March 25, 1999

CBC at a Crossroads

CBC President Perrin Beatty to Present CBC's Strategic Plan

Ottawa — In a far-ranging look at the future of public broadcasting in Canada, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation President Perrin Beatty will present Our Commitment to Canadians, the CBC's Strategic Plan in a speech to the Canadian Club of Ottawa on Wednesday, March 31.

CBC's Strategic Plan is the cornerstone of CBC's submission to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC). The CRTC has just completed a national round of public consultations into the public broadcaster's role and is in the midst of a licence-renewal review of each of CBC's four main services and its existing specialty services. The unprecedented top-to-bottom review of CBC's operations will set the course of CBC's future in an increasingly fragmented and competitive broadcast environment.

Mr. Beatty will address these issues in the context of CBC's mission, its priorities and its commitments based on those priorities. He will discuss CBC's plans for new services that are crucial to the survival of public broadcasting in Canada. "Both the CBC and Canadian cultural policy are at a critical crossroads," says Mr. Beatty. "It is clear that Canadians believe in public broadcasting and support the CBC. What we need now are the necessary tools to do our job."

Mr. Beatty will speak at noon at the Château Laurier Hotel.

About CBC/Radio-Canada

CBC/Radio-Canada is Canada's national public broadcaster and one of its largest cultural institutions. CBC/Radio-Canada reaches Canadians through eight national radio and television networks, its full-service Web sites, local/regional stations and affiliates, as well as the digital television channel Country Canada and the continuous music network Galaxie. In addition, CBC/Radio-Canada has forged partnerships with other broadcasters and is a partner in the satellite radio service SIRIUS Canada as well as in the specialty television services ARTV and The Documentary Channel. Through this array of activities, CBC/Radio-Canada brings diverse regional and cultural perspectives into the daily lives of Canadians in English, French and eight aboriginal languages. (2006)

For additional information, please contact:

Katherine Heath-Eves
Media Relations
CBC/Radio-Canada (Ottawa)
Tel: (613) 288-6235
heathevk@cbc.ca
www.cbc.radio-canada.ca