Speech
Notes for an address
by Charles Dalfen
Chairman, Canadian Radio-television
and Telecommunications Commission
to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage
Ottawa, Ontario
February 1st, 2005
(CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY)
Thank you, Madame Chairman and good morning members of
the Committee and staff.
My name is Charles Dalfen, and I am Chairman of the Canadian Radio-television
and Telecommunications Commission. To my right is Andrée Wylie, Vice-Chairman,
Broadcasting and to my left is Marc O’Sullivan, Executive Director, Broadcasting.
A number of other senior staff from the Commission are here today as well.
We are pleased to be with you in response to your request for an overview of
the CRTC’s mandate and activities. You’ve also asked us to elaborate on some
recent issues, such as the distribution of non-Canadian third-language television
services in Canada, on which we issued a public notice in December.
In addition to my oral presentation, which you have copies of, we have
provided you with a background document entitled “CRTC
Overview”, which sets out our mandate, structure, governance and operations.
Mandate and Scope
Let me begin with the basics. The CRTC is an independent public authority. We
are responsible for regulating and supervising Canadian broadcasting and
telecommunications. Our governing statutes are the CRTC Act, the
Broadcasting Act and the Telecommunications Act. We report to
Parliament through the Minister of Canadian Heritage.
Our functions under the Broadcasting Act are set out in the Overview
you have. They include licensing of broadcasting undertakings; reviewing changes
of ownership or control; developing regulatory policies to meet the objectives of
our legislation; resolving disputes and complaints; monitoring compliance and
industry performance; and, deciding on the distribution of foreign broadcasting
services in Canada.
We regulate over 2,000 licensees who, taken together, offer (as of the end of
2004) some 657 television services and 1,155 radio services. In addition to this,
we regulate 78 telecommunications carriers. There are a further 2,028 cable TV,
satellite and wireless broadcasting distribution undertakings, of which some 90%
are eligible for exemption from regulation. Last year, we processed 853
broadcasting and 790 telecommunications applications. We also issued 445 orders
and 729 decisions. We held 11 public hearings and responded to 55,386 requests
for information and complaints.
As an administrative tribunal, we are subject to the rules of natural justice,
which must be incorporated into our decision-making processes in order to ensure
access, transparency and openness to input from the public.
Our budget for the current fiscal year is $43.7 million. This amount is
covered by fees that we levy on broadcasting and telecommunications companies. We
have a staff of 418, based in Gatineau, Quebec, and in regional offices around
the country.
Striking a Balance
In fulfilling our mandate, we are called upon to walk a fine line. Our
governing legislation requires us to pursue a large number of policy objectives
set out in our governing legislation. It is not uncommon for these objectives to
conflict with one another. Our job is to deliver decisions that strike the best
possible balance among them.
We must also try to weigh in the balance the competing interests of our
stakeholders – industry players as well as consumers of broadcasting and
telecommunications products and services – while always remaining mindful of the
broader Canadian public interest.
We recognize that we work in an area where the stakes are high. Canada is
unique among industrialized countries in the degree to which its broadcasting and
telecommunications legislation explicitly emphasizes the social, economic,
cultural and political importance of those two industries. Section 3 of the
Broadcasting Act declares that our broadcasting system is “essential to the
maintenance and enhancement of national identity and cultural sovereignty”.
Section 7 of the Telecommunications Act contains a similar statement
about the role of telecommunications in maintaining Canada’s “identity and
sovereignty”. These are compelling statements, and they give us at the Commission
all the more reason to be prudent and painstaking in our work.
Our Legislative Mandate
Today the focus is on broadcasting. Sections 3 and 5 of the Broadcasting
Act (which are reproduced in the Overview) set out a rich and complex array
of objectives that define our legislated mandate.
First and foremost among them is the promotion of Canadian content. Supporting
the production, broadcast and distribution of Canadian programming is the
cornerstone of broadcasting policy as laid out in the Act. This is the
legislative expression of the longstanding view in Canada that broadcasting plays
a critical role in creating and sustaining our collective sense of who we are and
what we stand for.
Perhaps the fullest expression is found in Section 3 (1) (d) (ii), which says
that the Canadian broadcasting system should:
“encourage the development of Canadian expression by providing a wide
range of programming that reflects Canadian attitudes, opinions, ideas, values
and artistic creativity, by displaying Canadian talent in entertainment
programming and by offering information and analysis concerning Canada and
other countries from a Canadian point of view.”
Other sections require each element of the broadcasting system to contribute
to the creation and presentation of Canadian programming; require broadcasting
undertakings to make “predominant use” of Canadian creative resources; and
require broadcasting distribution undertakings to give priority of carriage to
Canadian programming. Section 5 (2) (e) directs us to regulate the broadcasting
system in a way that “facilitates the provision of Canadian programs to
Canadians.”
Although the Broadcasting Act was first adopted in 1968 and
substantially revised in 1991 – in both instances, with near unanimous support
from all political parties – there is a longer history of regulation of Canadian
content based on preceding legislation. Content regulations were first imposed on
over-the-air television in 1961, when television broadcasters were required to
devote 45 percent of their programming to Canadian content. (The current rule is
60 percent overall and 50 percent in the evening for private broadcasters.)
Canadian content rules are also relevant to cable companies, which were
initially brought under the Commission’s jurisdiction in the 1968 Act. A
majority of the services delivered to subscribers by cable and direct-to-home
undertakings must be Canadian, and they must also carry most licensed Canadian
channels. As well, they must contribute 5 percent of their broadcast revenues to
support Canadian programming and community expression, with the bulk of this
contribution going to the Canadian Television Fund.
In radio, the first content regulations – requiring that 30 percent of all
popular music played on radio stations be Canadian – were introduced in 1972.
(The current requirement is 35 percent.) This has allowed a Canadian music
industry to establish itself, and has launched the careers of many artists and
musicians who are now international stars or, indeed, superstars.
Television Drama – Supporting Canadian Productions
One of the most significant ways in which the Commission fulfills the Canadian
content objectives of the Act is through measures aimed at promoting the
production and viewership of Canadian television drama. We attach particular
significance to this because viewing Canadian drama on television is one of the
most important outlets that Canadians have for participating, collectively, in
our national culture. As well, promoting made-in-Canada drama helps to ensure
that we have a domestic industry capable of producing television programs that
will generate employment for Canadian writers, directors, artists and technicians
on a sustainable basis.
When it comes to French-language Canadian drama, domestic productions do very
well, attracting roughly half of all viewers of drama on French-language
services. But the story is different when it comes to English-language drama.
There, American programming predominates, while home-grown productions currently
attract only 11% of Canadians watching drama on English-language television.
Over the years, the Commission has implemented a variety of measures aimed at
stimulating the production of high-quality Canadian drama. In November of last
year we took another step, and announced incentives for broadcasters of
English-language drama. In a nutshell, the incentives allow broadcasters to sell
extra minutes of advertising time, over and above what is normally permitted, if
they:
- broadcast more original hours of Canadian drama;
- attract larger audiences to Canadian drama; or
- commit more expenditures to Canadian drama.
Last week, we also adopted similar measures in relation to French-language
Canadian drama, to ensure that it remains a key component of peak-time viewing.
Linguistic Duality
Our approach to Canadian television drama is linked not only to the
Broadcasting Act’s objectives related to Canadian content, but also to
Parliament’s direction that the broadcasting system reflect Canada’s linguistic
duality.
The Act acknowledges that “English and French language broadcasting,
while sharing common aspects, operate under different conditions and may have
different requirements.” And it requires that “a range of broadcasting services
in English and in French shall be extended to all Canadians as resources become
available.” As well, the Act requires that CBC programming reflect the
“particular needs and circumstances of English and French linguistic communities”
and to be “of equivalent quality in English and French.”
Recent steps taken by the Commission to support these objectives of the
Act related to linguistic duality include:
- establishing a policy for the distribution of official language
broadcasting services in minority language environments;
- requiring satellite distribution undertakings to distribute at least five
CBC channels in both official languages;
- giving effect to the CBC’s extended coverage plan of La Chaîne culturelle
(now Espace Musique) and CBC Radio 2;
- encouraging cable companies to offer community channels in both official
languages; and
- preparing an annual action plan for the CRTC’s implementation of Section 41
of the Official Languages Act.
Diversity
Beyond supporting linguistic duality, the Act also contains
provisions requiring the broadcasting system to respect and reflect the 200 or
more cultures, languages and ethnic traditions that today constitute Canadian
society. Section 3 (1) (d) (iii) states that the Canadian broadcasting system
should
“serve the needs and interests, and reflect the circumstances and
aspirations, of Canadian men, women and children, including equal rights, the
linguistic duality and multicultural and multiracial nature of Canadian society
and the special place of aboriginal peoples within that society.”
We take two broad approaches to fulfilling this objective. We license many
services that target ethnic and Aboriginal communities, and require broadcasters
to reflect Canada's diverse reality on Canadian television screens.
Under our licensing approach, Canada’s ethnic broadcasting landscape has
expanded considerably. There are now four ethnic over-the-air television stations
and 17 radio stations, all of which devote a significant portion of their
schedules to programming in languages other than English or French – so-called
“third-language” programming. There are also five general interest third-language
specialty analog services.
In addition, 21 ethnic digital services have been launched, as have several
specialty audio services. A further 30 ethnic digital services have received
authorization, but have not yet commenced operation.
On top of these Canadian third-language services, 19 non-Canadian
third-language services have been authorized for distribution in Canada, and six
of them are currently available to subscribers.
The Commission also licenses Aboriginal services. Aboriginal Peoples
Television Network (APTN), launched in 1999, is the only national indigenous
television network in the world. We require that it be carried by all television
distribution systems across Canada.
As well, there are over 250 native radio stations across the country in rural
areas, small towns and reserves. Most are exempt from the regular licensing
process, to encourage the roll-out of as many services as possible.
The second arm of our approach to diversity involves requirements that
broadcasters must fulfill. The Commission now requires broadcasters to improve
the reflection of Canadian diversity in all types of programming. They must also
report annually on their accomplishments in this regard.
At the request of the CRTC, the Canadian Association of Broadcasters created a
task force which undertook research on diversity on Canadian television and
proposed industry-wide approaches for improving the presence and portrayal of
Canadian diversity on television. The task force submitted its final report to us
last year, and we will issue our response soon.
I would also point out that the Commission recently expanded its diversity
initiatives to include the improved reflection and portrayal of persons with
disabilities. The Canadian Association of Broadcasters filed an action plan with
us in August, and we look forward to their report, in July, on its
implementation.
All this being said, it remains true that much more has to be done in order to
bring all Canadians into the broadcasting system, on both sides of the camera and
the microphone.
Non-Canadian Third-Language Programming
I spoke a moment ago about the importance of third-language television
programming to achieve diversity in our broadcasting system. Not surprisingly,
requests for non-Canadian third-language services have accelerated in line with
the growing diversity of Canada’s population. We therefore decided to launch a
public review of this issue. We received 152 comments from distributors,
broadcasters, representatives of third-language communities and other members of
the public.
After weighing the evidence, we announced, in December, a more open approach
to requests for non-Canadian third-language services that are of a general
interest nature. As a general principle, these requests will be approved, subject
to distribution requirements aimed at minimizing any possible negative impact on
Canadian third-language services. We believe that this new approach will respond
to demands for greater diversity in programming, and ensure better service to
third-language ethnic communities, while at the same time offering needed
protection to long-established Canadian owned and operated third language
service.
Equal Rights
Another public interest issue that has been highlighted recently concerns our
regulations prohibiting broadcasts containing abusive comments that are contrary
to the objectives of diversity and equal rights enshrined not only in Section 3
of the Broadcasting Act but also in the Canadian Charter of Rights and
Freedoms.
As you probably recall, last summer we issued decisions related to both
television and radio that generated considerable controversy. Those decisions
required us to balance freedom of expression with other objectives of the Act,
in applying our regulation prohibiting abusive commentary, that violates the
rights of individuals or groups by exposing them to hatred or contempt on the
basis of race, sex, or other attributes. I would note that that particular
regulation was adopted in its original form nearly 70 years ago. Similar rules
are in place in many other countries.
I can’t think of clearer examples of the “fine line” that we must walk at the
Commission as we attempt to balance competing claims and competing social values.
On the one hand, Canadians care deeply about freedom of expression. But, equally,
they care about nurturing respect and civility, and sustaining a society where
equal rights and tolerance predominate. There is no magic formula in cases such
as these. At the end of the day, we have to make a judgment about the best way to
further the multiple objectives Parliament has set for us, and to pursue the
public interest.
Picking Up the Pace
Because our decisions are often difficult ones, and because it’s important for
us to get them right, we need to be deliberate in the way we gather and weigh
evidence. To do it fairly takes time. I raise this because if there is one area
where our broadcasting industry stakeholders tell us, consistently, that they
want us to improve our performance, it has to do with the speed at which we
deliver our decisions and public notices.
We understand their concerns. No one who operates a business in a regulated
environment relishes the uncertainty that goes with waiting for the regulator to
make up its mind. We are therefore placing a special emphasis on finding ways to
streamline our internal procedures in order to accelerate our decision-making.
That effort has already begun to pay off; but more is still required, and we will
continue to pick-up the pace.
Madame Chairman and members of the Committee, this concludes my formal
remarks. My colleagues and I would be pleased to answer any questions that you
might have.
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Date Modified: 2005-02-01 |
