Speeches and Interviews

January 22, 2000

Speech for the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA)

Delivered by Madame Guylaine Saucier, Chair of the Board of Directors (Saint John, N.B.)

Good evening, again, graduates and guests.

As we savour the tasty meal that we have just enjoyed, and as the award winners and graduates justifiably bask in the glory of this moment, I want to direct your attention towards an institution which is inherently very local, very national, and very Canadian — the CBC. Up until this point, this evening, I have been wearing the hat of CICA Chair. Now, I will add another hat on top of that, as I am also the Chair of the Board of Directors of the CBC. You will notice that I have said, "add" one hat to another, rather than "exchange" hats. I have done this because I want to point out how the thinking and service of a trained chartered accountant, in this case the Chair of CICA, converge with the aims of the CBC. In other words, it is an important fact that the CBC recognizes the integral position of good business practices to a large public broadcasting corporation. I also hope that you graduates will envision, in the course of this evening, a role that you may individually and collectively play in the support and service of your national broadcaster in your future professions and personal lives.

This evening I have been asked to speak about the Future of Public Broadcasting in Canada. The title of this grand topic suggests that we should parse the phrase and examine the concepts, "public" and "future": what "public" means, and what "future" implies…

Radio has always been a strong force in Canada. In the early days of radio, it was very valuable to people in isolated communities in the wintertime to have news and variety shows to alleviate the dangers of loneliness. Later, during the Second World War, citizens needed the CBC's reports on activities at The Front. Weather predictions broadcast by the CBC were also enormously important to those who fished or farmed in this country. As the accuracy of weather information increased, so did the safety of personal property and life, and the likelihood that ships and sailors would not end on the shoals, and that seeds could be planted and crops harvested at optimal times. When farmers and fishermen did better, so did all citizens of the country.

Along with radio, CBC television became a means to acquire information and entertainment, first through affiliated stations and then through CBC-owned and operated stations. Today, CBC is strongly represented in numerous large and small communities throughout the country. The CBC provides a lot of homegrown local services, many of which are, in turn, broadcast nationally. Local CBC services investigate and report local news items and events, told by local reporters in, perhaps, a local style. As well, many local performers, activists and thinkers are highlighted on local CBC radio and television stations.

When we talk about the CBC being public, we mean a number of things. The CBC is owned by Canadian taxpayers, who are our shareholders, if you like, and it serves those shareholders in a variety of important and very public ways. Information gathering and dissemination of the sort which I have just outlined have always been an important activity of the CBC, but I should note that, in 1936, the federal government had clear cultural imperatives in mind — rather than marketplace considerations — when it created the country's public broadcaster. The CBC was founded to respond to a political determination to bring together the broad diversity of people who make up this country and to ensure a Canadian voice at a time when American transmitters seemed destined to completely dominate our airwaves.

In today's multi-channel "universe" — driven by spectacularly sophisticated technology — does the menace of international cultural domination sound familiar to you?

The federal government reexamined this issue in 1991 when it revised the Broadcasting Act. This Act clearly states that the Canadian broadcasting system should serve to safeguard, enrich and strengthen the cultural, political, social and economic fabric of Canada. This is not at all a weak mandate, particularly in the context of internal Canadian pressures — for example, the government's requirement that the CBC operate with a budget greatly reduced from previous years while being expected to produce much more and reach a larger percentage of the population. It is also not a weak

mandate when we consider the gargantuan external pressures affecting the CBC — competition from so many other entertainment purveyors as well as the strengthening threats from Canada's trading partners — through free trade and the high-profile World Trade Organization (WTO) which recently dealt a crippling blow to our Canadian magazine industry.

So, given this difficult and intricate context, how does the CBC fulfil its mandate and how can it remain relevant to Canadians in their everyday lives?

I will go back to the word "public" to talk about the CBC's public presence in Canada. The CBC is the only Canadian broadcaster given a strong and public mandate to serve all Canadians equally. The CBC is the only broadcaster with a presence across the country, gathering local, regional and national news every day, and disseminating it to your neighbours next door as well as your "neighbours" across the country. The CBC is the only broadcaster that operates in English, French and eight aboriginal languages. The CBC is also the only broadcaster with the infrastructure to support all these activities, and the only broadcaster with non-commercial motives which enable it to provide unbiased reporting (even concerning the federal government which votes on its budgetary allocations) and to pursue a course of examining Canada's past and present through documentaries and dramas.

What commercial domestic broadcaster, let alone a foreign one, would attempt to accomplish so much for Canadians?

Another public aspect of the CBC is its responsibilities to the nation. The CBC's programs are designed to inform, enlighten and entertain and to reflect Canadians back to themselves. Activities to uphold these responsibilities are planned and carried out everyday. But let us look at the CBC's responsibility to jump into action at the time of unexpected events of special interest to the nation and to countries beyond our borders. A year-and-a-half ago, CBC Halifax put into effect their emergency reporting plan to cover the horrendous crash

of Swissair's Flight 111. As many of you know, searching for survivors in the vast and turbulent Atlantic, especially at night in Peggy's Cove, must have been a frightening experience — hoping for success, knowing the time constraints for endurance in the chilled water, and dreading the final outcome. The efficiency, professionalism and discretion shown by CBC reporters on the scene were of profound value and comfort to Canadians across this country and especially to the families of the victims who discovered the enormous skill and empathy of Canada's national broadcaster. Without the CBC, many grieving families and friends would have been without essential and timely information. No commercial broadcaster in this country could have delivered such a service as CBC did in September 1998. And the same can be said for all the hard work done by the CBC during the great ice storm and the floods in Manitoba and the Saguenay in recent years.

Just three weeks ago, the CBC again went into action to cover the hoopla and the effects of entering the new millennium. CBC committed money, staff and a great deal of energy to solving Y2K issues. As well, many CBC employees had to cancel their vacation and holiday plans to serve the country through the CBC's Mission Critical efforts. Here again is an example of the CBC's exclusive mandate to serve Canada: the CBC is the federal government's emergency broadcaster in times of crisis. No other broadcaster has the infrastructure or the will to carry out such duties.

The CBC also has public opportunities embedded within its traditions and the expectations of the 1991 Broadcasting Act. It would be hard to imagine a Canadian performer or artist who has not received considerable encouragement and exposure from the CBC. Starting at the local level, and then going to regional and national attention, performers have been given the chance to work with experienced CBC directors and producers who have focussed on the artist's incipient talent and honed their budding skills. Exposure by the CBC has launched innumerable Canadian careers nationally and internationally. Examples that easily come to mind are — since we are in the Maritimes — performers highlighted at the East Coast Music Awards such as Great Big Sea or the Rankin Family (and here we lament the recent loss of one of its members). Other Maritime success stories include the writers and performers of This Hour Has 22 Minutes and Made in Canada, as well as those featured in the Halifax Comedy Festival. Airing The National Aboriginal Achievement Awards, hosted by composer and symphony conductor John Kim Bell, has introduced and featured artists who are now well-known to us: Buffy Sainte-Marie, Shania Twain and Tom Jackson; and singer Susan Aglukark. Other shows providing unprecedented exposure for Canadian artists are: The Governor General's Performing Arts Awards, the Gemini Awards, the Gala de l'ADISQ and the Junos, Out Front which features young authors, Two New Hours which highlights new classical composers, and opera broadcasts from The Met which have showcased, among other Canadians, world-celebrated singer Ben Heppner. Let us not forget Canadian performers such as Cynthia Dale or Sheila McCarthy, or athletic performers such as Elvis Stojko, Kurt Browning and Josee Chouinard. The CBC has been proud to give them all centre stage.

The CBC also has a long tradition of broadcasting Canadian professional and amateur sports. Canadian commercial networks may cover successful Canadian professional sports, but they have done little to highlight amateur sports. And, given the big-league games of other countries such as the United States, why would American broadcasters take an interest in investing expensive on-air time in non-lucrative ventures such as showcasing upcoming athletes who may come from tiny communities in our country?

As we have already said, the CBC informs Canadians about themselves, from coast to coast to coast. By offering bilingual and aboriginal services, the CBC has also helped to encourage linguistic exchange and understanding, an ongoing and critical challenge in Canada, and an example to the world of how different peoples can try to accommodate each other.

What I have talked about so far this evening is the meaning of public and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The CBC is public: it is owned by Canadians, it serves Canadians, and it has a long tradition of Canadian nation building unmatched by any other broadcaster.

Now, let us look at benchmarks (both external and those imposed by the CBC itself) by which we may measure the CBC's success — even, and perhaps especially, in the context of globalization and competition on the airwaves.

Last year, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) held public consultations in 11 cities to hear the Canadian public's impressions of the CBC. In each city, the CRTC witnessed a positive demonstration of good will towards the CBC. These consultations were held prior to the CRTC's hearings of the CBC's applications for licence renewals, a lengthy and detailed process that takes place every few years. As you probably know, the CRTC recently responded to the CBC about these hearings and I will speak about that in just a moment.

The CBC took great care to present its case for renewals, taking into account the public's comments and aspirations for their CBC, as heard during the eleven-city tour. The CBC also examined and "challenged" its own core competencies, strengths and weaknesses.

This resulted in a set of key priorities and a redefined mission. Now, you graduates in the audience might note that any business would carry out strategic reviews from time to time. But at the heart of this brainstorming process was an element that profit-motivated broadcasters neither value nor invest in — and that is the need and the desire of the CBC to serve Canadians and to meet their justifiable expectations.

At this juncture, I will briefly note the CBC's mission, as it was presented to the CRTC. The CBC's Mission is to tell Canadians stories reflecting the reality and diversity of our country, to inform Canadians about news and relevant issues, to support Canadian arts and culture, and to build bridges among Canadians.

These are indeed hefty goals. But they are also worthy of the Canadian public and its public broadcaster.

On January 6th, the CRTC did respond to the CBC's licence renewal applications, and the CBC in turn responded to the CRTC about their rulings. While the CBC has publicly stated that it considers the CRTC's input very important, there is a difference in opinion in what can be accomplished in the context of the CBC's fiscal reality. The CBC's new re-engineering task force, which was struck before the CRTC's decisions were announced, has already begun to examine all of our programming and broadcasting activities. Our hope is to find savings within our internal procedures that can be put into more and better programming to serve Canadians. Again, this fiscal attitude points out another difference between the CBC and private broadcasters: the CBC is not a profit-making venture. Money earned goes back into CBC programming. The CBC strives for excellence while keeping its eye on the bottom line.

Let us go back to the benchmarks for measuring the CBC's success. I have already mentioned the positive accolades given to the CBC during the CRTC cross-country tour last year. Let us look at another important benchmark. In an era of global competition for the attention of viewers and listeners, would it not be appropriate to list some of the many prestigious and very public national and international prizes awarded to the CBC and its productions last year?

In 1999, two Emmy awards were presented to the CBC: one for the CBC/Veronica Tennant production about Karen Kain (this was one of only seven international Emmys awarded); and the other, a technical Emmy for the "First Full-time Distribution of a TV Network by Satellite Transmission". CBC also garnered 41 Gemini Awards, as well as 38 Gémeaux in television. For Radio One and Radio Two, there were 11 Radio and Television News Directors Association Awards; nine medals from the New York Festival Awards (including three gold); as well as the Italia Award and the Grand prix de la Radio de l'Université radiophonique et télévisuelle internationale. CBC Records received six awards in 1999, including two Junos; and our Internet services brought in numerous honours for the Site Nouvelles de Radio-Canada, Street Cents, Infoculture, and particularly for CBC4Kids , which alone took home 20 prizes this year.

Canadians have every right to be proud of their CBC! And all of this has been accomplished in an era of unprecedented budgetary and personnel cutbacks; when the Canadian public has demanded more and better programming; and when the CBC has had to compete for every one of its listeners and viewers, everyday, who may choose from an explosion of commercial domestic — but mostly foreign — networks. Given this context, and the CBC's expansive mandate, it has not done badly at all.

But where do we go from here? What is the CBC's future?

The CBC will maintain its core programming activities, while exploring potential new avenues and efficiencies in broadcasting. The CBC will continue to lead other broadcasters in setting journalistic standards and in aiding charitable events in local communities. And the CBC will further its "self-diagnosis" through its new re-engineering task force. All of this is part of the CBC's future.

And where do you come in? Graduates, you have listened very carefully to me this evening, on your night of recognition. At the beginning of the speech I said that I hoped that you would envision your own role in the support and service of your national public broadcaster, in your future professions and lives. And how do you do this? Here is my advice to you. Decide to choose the very public CBC over private or foreign broadcasters which represent profit-making rather than genuine honest story-making. Tune into your CBC where your fellow citizens talk about our nation and our people. Talk to your neighbours and friends about CBC productions and the importance of listening to or watching programs about ourselves. Write to your MP to say that you want more, not less, CBC.

Take seriously the threats emanating from the WTO and tell your government that we cannot afford to lose our CBC and other cultural institutions: losing them would be tantamount to losing our culture and identity. And it is very hard to rebuild institutions like the CBC after they have been effectively or actually dismantled. In an era of globalization, unless you want to be subsumed into a bland undifferentiated "culture" (and I do put that latter word in quotes) then speak out about your CBC and all of the other important Canadian institutions and symbols that surround you.

Thank you and good night.