Speeches and Interviews

February 25, 2003

CBC/Radio-Canada: Reflecting Canada and Connecting Canadians

Notes for remarks by Robert Rabinovitch, President and Chief Executive Officer CBC/Radio-Canada, at the 8th Annual Eid-ul-Adha Celebrations, Parliament Hill, Ottawa

Introduction

Thank you for your kind introduction.

And thank you ALL for welcoming CBC/Radio-Canada to the annual Eid-ul-Adha celebrations on Parliament Hill.

We are delighted that the Association of Progressive Muslims has chosen to honour CBC/Radio-Canada on the heels of our 50th anniversary celebrations.

Frankly, your timing is impeccable.

Today, geopolitical tensions worldwide are peaking with talk of war.

Emotions on all sides are running high. Views are polarized. Voices raised in anger and anxiety.

Among them are those who castigate the media … including CBC/Radio-Canada … for unfair or biased coverage.

As Canada's public broadcaster, we take such charges seriously … there is a higher standard for us … and there should be.

These sentiments remind us of the value of having a public space where ALL voices and points of view can be heard … shared and discussed openly … in the spirit of mutual understanding and respect.

In honouring us today, you send an important message.

About our role in building bridges between communities … of fostering understanding between cultures … of promoting Canadian values of respect, tolerance and moderate voices.

We have provided a public space for sharing Canadian stories across regional, linguistic and cultural lines.

We have nurtured Canadian talent and cultural expression.

We have reflected Canada and its development into one of the world's modern success stories.

In bringing Canada's own stories into our nation's homes, CBC/Radio-Canada is an important part of the Canadian family.

As the country's social landscape has changed over the years, so has the need for CBC/Radio-Canada to fine-tune its reflection of Canadians' experiences in its broadcasts.

In all of our programming, producers, writers, correspondents and performers must and will continue to be sensitive in the reflection and portrayal of all components of Canadian society regardless of racial, cultural, linguistic, regional and other differences.

We are proud of all that we have achieved over the years.

And, we are proud to accept an award that pays tribute to those achievements … an award from the Association of Progressive Muslims … an important voice among many Canadian voices.

The NEW CBC/Radio-Canada

In today's rapidly changing world, CBC/Radio-Canada must continually re-invent itself to remain relevant to Canadians … and a vital and fundamental institution to them.

We are not the only one … all public broadcasters must continuously re-invent themselves to recognize changes that occur in the media environment.

That's why we have made important changes over the past three years.

Building on our strengths, we have been re-defining our role … so that each of our media becomes a real alternative to Canada's private broadcasters.

Programming changes

In English Television, for example:

We've revitalized our news flagship, The National and added innovative programs such as Canada Now, CBC News Sunday and Disclosure.

We've increased our news presence - across Canada, with 19 additional new news bureaus, and around the world, where our journalists report increasingly in English and French for radio, television and the Internet.

We've added more innovative, educational and commercial-free programming for our nation's children and youth.

We've increased opportunities for Canadians to experience live performing arts no matter where in Canada they live.

We've also boosted regional representation and presence on network programming.

We are now making the same kinds of changes in other media lines. Just last week, for example, we announced a major re-positioning exercise for French Television to strengthen its public vocation.

Operational changes

Our entire strategy hinges on our ability to channel as much funding as we can into the production of Canadian programming of the highest quality.

In a period of fixed funding and rising costs, we must run a Corporation that meets private sector efficiency standards. We are doing this by driving down costs and creating new efficient operations. These changes have generated several million dollars internally that can be directed to programming.

After last week's budget, we were informed that the government reaffirmed our new strategic directions with an assurance that we will be receiving a permanent injection of $60 million for programming initiatives.

Coupled with the savings we are achieving, this new money will dramatically enhance our capacity to deliver the kind of high-quality, distinctively Canadian programming that only a strong, vibrant public broadcaster can deliver.

Many Canadians have already seen the results of our efforts in this regard - our coverage of the Winter Olympics last year or programs like Canada: A People's History / Le Canada : Une histoire populaire, Random Passage / Cap Random, The Last Chapter / Le Dernier Chapitre, or last spring's presentation of the miniseries Trudeau.

Just last week, our English and French Radio networks have co-produced a series on the devastating effects of war in the Congo. This series Cursed By Riches: The Congo Struggles to Survive / Congo : une république à la dérive is also presented in multi-media format on our websites.

Such programs and initiatives reflect the in-depth changes we are making.

They demonstrate how we are increasing the value we deliver to Canadians and putting the "public" back in public broadcasting.

Trusted, Connected, Canadian

In today's globalized society, Canadian lives are now impacted by events happening far beyond our borders. Now more than ever, Canadians need to understand where they fit in the new world order.

Canadians trust CBC/Radio-Canada to connect them to what's happening in their communities, across their country and around the world … they turn to us for the information they need to make sense of it all.

Take the lead-up to possible war in the Middle East.

The American networks will soon start parachuting their people into the Region.

Typically, these networks invest very little in covering the international scene.

But in the lead-up to this important story, the American networks will start to throw their massive resources at it … they'll have news teams embedded with U.S. military forces and freelancers as well.

Regardless, such parachute journalism won't give these news teams experience and roots in the Region. It won't allow them to provide the much-needed context to understand why these events happen.

For that, Canadians know they can rely on CBC/Radio-Canada. And it is to us that they turn to in times of crisis demanding analysis.

For more than 15 years, we have had a permanent news bureau in Jerusalem. Last year, we opened a bureau in Cairo and this year one in Amman.

Indeed, we are very proud of the job our news teams have done in covering developments in the Middle East.

Whether there is a war or not, CBC/Radio-Canada journalists are there to offer a Canadian interpretation of the events … a more sophisticated, detached version of events … a version founded on in-depth verification of the facts, not speculation.

In anticipation of further developments in the Region, we have deployed news teams in Iraq, Kuwait, Jordan and Qatar.

From Bagdad and Tel Aviv, to Washington and New York, our seasoned journalists … Patrick Brown, Don Murray, Céline Galipeau, David Halton, Paul Workman, Adrienne Arsenault and Michel Cormier… will be there gathering, verifying and presenting the facts … as accurately and as fairly as possible … so that Canadians can make their own judgments.

Our English Services have also created a special Radio-Television investigative unit whose job it is to get to an in-depth rather than superficial understanding of the context that determines events.

On the program L'Irak sous surveillance, aired on RDI, we present a daily update on the situation in Iraq with experts and reports from Don Murray live from Baghdad.

We believe such presence is vital as it allows us to bring Canadians insight, analysis and perspectives that parachute journalism simply cannot deliver. We believe it's our responsibility to be there … not offshore relying on Pentagon and White House briefings and pool feeds from CNN.

Canadians Support CBC/Radio-Canada

Trusted … Connected … Canadian. That's our mantra and we're proud of it.

Canadians know that CBC/Radio-Canada delivers an essential service … an excellent service … a service for which they can feel enormous pride.

For them, public television and public radio wasn't just a good idea half a century ago; it's still a good idea today.

Conclusion

Canada stands as a shining example to the world of what is possible.

What is possible when the fundamental rights and freedoms are not only protected, but also actively promoted.

What is possible when English and French, Africans and Europeans, Muslims and Jews can live together in harmony and shared experience.

What is possible when you have institutions in place that have a shared goal of promoting understanding, friendship and connections across our differences.

Thank you again for honouring us today. We are proud to be recognized by important leaders of Canada's Muslim community and we look forward to serving you and ALL Canadians in the years ahead.

Thank you and enjoy your evening.