News Release

May 31, 2000

OTTAWA-HULL — Today, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) issued a notice seeking the public’s views on the steps to be taken to encourage and promote the broadest possible range of French-language broadcasting services in minority Francophone communities. This call for comments is part of the consultation process intended to respond to the Governor in Council’s order of April 5^th, 2000 calling on the CRTC to consult with the public on this issue and report back by December 31^st of this year.

The Commission will also be taking advantage of this opportunity to gather all of the information required to finalize and implement its policy on increasing the availability of specialty services in the official language of the minority.

On March 10^th, 2000, the CRTC had already sought public input on its draft policy designed to use digital technology to offer more specialty television channels to cable subscribers across the country. The aim was to increase the availability of French-language channels in markets with an English-speaking majority, and conversely, English-language channels where French is spoken by the majority. Comments were to be received by the Commission by May 10^th.

The Governor in Council’s order recognized the validity of the CRTC’s initiative, but broadened the scope of the consultation. Given the complementary nature of the draft policy and the issues raised in the Order, the CRTC is commencing a new public process to deal with them all at the same time.

Without limiting the scope of the discussion, the CRTC would like to see the following issues addressed:

• What deficiencies and challenges exist in the provision of French-language radio and television services (including specialty, pay, and pay-per-view television) in Canadian communities where Francophones are the minority?
• What deficiencies and challenges exist in the availability of French-language broadcasting services across the country’s entire distribution system?
• How can technological progress help in meeting these challenges?
• What can be done to encourage and promote the broadest possible access to these services in minority Francophone communities? Should the Commission adopt a different approach in the Ottawa area?
• What can be done to ensure that the Canadian broadcasting system truly reflects the diversity of Francophone communities throughout the country?

Anyone interested in submitting comments to the CRTC may do so in writing (hard copy, on diskette or via e-mail). The deadline is July 31^st, 2000. Beginning on July 1 ^st, 2000, the Commission will be making factual data available to interested parties on the various French-language broadcasting services currently offered in minority Francophone communities in Canada.

Comments may relate to the issues raised in the Order or to the CRTC’s draft policy.

The CRTC envisages a three-stage process for developing the submission to be presented to the Governor in Council by the end of the year.

Stage 1: Compile the necessary data and study the briefs submitted (including those received by                   May 10 concerning the draft policy).

Stage 2: Regional consultations throughout Canada, in early fall.

Stage 3: Public hearing, towards late fall.

The Commission will be issuing a public notice to provide details on the regional consultations and the public hearing.

Reference Documents:  CRTC Public Notices 2000-38 and 2000-74

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General Inquiries:
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0N2
Tel: (819) 997-0313, TDD: (819) 994-0423, Fax: (819) 994-0218
Toll-free # 1-877-249-CRTC (2782), eMail: info@crtc.gc.ca
Media Relations:
Denis Carmel, Tel: (819) 997-9403, eMail: denis.carmel@crtc.gc.ca

Copies of today’s documents are available through our Internet site ( http://www.crtc.gc.ca ) or by contacting the public examination room of any CRTC office. These documents are available in alternative format upon request.