NEWS RELEASES

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