Canada’s national public broadcaster CBC/Radio-Canada failed to meet its obligations to provide content in both official languages, a Senate committee study has concluded.
The study “CBC/Radio-Canada’s Language Obligations – Communities Want to See Themselves and Be Heard Coast to Coast!” is a result of a decision in 2011 by the Upper Chamber’s Standing Committee on Official Languages “to undertake a study on CBC/Radio-Canada’s obligations under the Official Languages Act and some specific aspects of the Broadcasting Act.”
The committee recognized that “In light of recent events, ranging from financial pressures and demographic changes to emerging new technologies and competitive market conditions, it is clear that the public broadcaster faces numerous challenges, including difficulties meeting its language obligations.”
But the study also emphasized that the committee had heard numerous witnesses who felt the broadcaster had failed to sufficiently provide content in Canada’s two official languages, English and French. And there were particular concerns about French content.
Among the recommendations of the committee:
- that CBC/Radio-Canada “take concrete and positive measures to enable all francophones across Canada to see, hear and read about themselves in French.”
- that CBC/Radio-Canada “ensure that all anglophones and francophones are offered programming of equivalent quality in all regions of Canada.”
- that CBC/Radio-Canada “commit to reflecting the artistic and cultural talents of anglophone and francophone minority communities in its national programming, during prime time, across all of its platforms (radio, television and the Internet).”
- that CBC/Radio-Canada “allocate a reasonable share of its programming expenditures to independent producers in francophone minority communities.”
And the Senate committee also asked the national broadcaster to “demonstrate how its corporate culture has taken into consideration the realities and challenges unique to official-language minority communities and that the board of directors notify the Senate Committee of action taken by 31 December 2014.”
More information:
Senate study – CBC/Radio-Canada’s Language Obligations (pdf) – here
Postmedia News – Budget cuts hinder CBC’s minority-language services, Senate report says – here
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