Search

Broadcasting - Staff Letter addressed to various parties

Ottawa, 17 May 2024

BY E-MAIL

Bev Kirshenblatt
Executive Director, Corporate and Regulatory Affairs
CBC/Radio-Canada
bev.kirshenblatt@cbc.ca

Carol Ann Pilon
Executive Director
Alliance des producteurs francophones du Canada
capilon@apfc.info

Marie-Christine Morin
Executive Director
Fédération Culturelle Canadienne-française
strategies@fccf.ca

RE: Part 1 Application to amend the conditions of service relating to the calculation of Canadian programming expenditures and programs of national interest (2023-0391-5)

Ms. Kirshenblatt, Pilon, and Morin,

On 14 May 2024, the Alliance des producteurs francophones du Canada (APFC) submitted a procedural request to obtain additional information on the record and to extend the comment period for the above-noted Part 1 Application.  The letter stated that:

  1. The 15-day Official Language Minority Community (OLMC) consultation deadline established in the 2 May 2024 staff letter does not meet the Commission's obligations set out in the Broadcasting Act since it does not provide OLMC communities with enough time to comment on the application.
  2. The record is incomplete and does not have all relevant information to formulate an informed opinion and participate fully in the consultation arising from the file.
    • To this end, APFC is requesting additional information through an appendix (actual expenditure on Canadian programming for 2022-2023, additional categories of projected spending).
  3. The application includes inconsistent information.

On 16 May 2024, the Fédération culturelle canadienne-française (FCCF) submitted a procedural request in support of APFC’s letter.

Extension of the comment and reply period:

The comment period for the OLMC consultation has been extended as follows:

Staff is sensitive to the obligations regarding OLMCs set out in the Broadcasting Act, as evidenced by its action to re-open the record to give OLMCs a specific opportunity to comment on the matter despite having already provided comments in the previous rounds. The Commission has not yet developed its framework and rules regarding fulfilment of these obligations.  As a result, procedure is determined on a case-by-case basis.  In the particular circumstances of this file, staff is of the view that 15 days was sufficient given the previous opportunities to comment; however, in recognition of these sensitivities and given that CBC will provide additional information as indicated below, staff is of the view that it would be appropriate to grant a short extension.

APFC’s request for additional data

With respect to APFC’s request for additional data, Commission staff is of the view that the public record of the application – including the responses to various staff’s requests for information - already includes the information that is relevant to the application. The data related directly to the relief sought by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Société Radio-Canada (CBC/SRC) is already available on the public record.  As such, staff does not find it necessary for the CBC/SRC to provide this information at this time.

APFC’s argument of inconsistent data

In its letter, APFC states that:

“… Application 2023-0391-5 also contains inconsistent information. For example, in the production report submitted by the Corporation to the CRTC on November 30, 2023, in accordance with Broadcasting Decision CRTC 2022-165, the Corporation reported eligible Canadian program expenditures (CPE) of $206,536,000, whereas these expenditures amount to $271,200,000 in Table 3 and $282,063,000 in Appendix A of its February 21, 2024 response. APFC has no explanation for the discrepancies in the data presented.” (para. 7)

In light of the above, Commission staff is providing the Corporation with the opportunity to comment on these inconsistencies. Given the time sensitive nature of the application, the Corporation will have until 22 May 2024 to provide its response and to provide any corrections that are necessary. Please note this information will be placed on the public record and may be considered by OLMC interveners in their submissions that will be due on 28 May 2024.

Best regards,

Original signed by

Scott Shortliffe
Executive Director, Broadcasting

c.c.

Distribution list:

Actra asikorski@actra.ca
Gala film agelbart@galafilm.com
Societe de L'Acadie du Nouveau-Brunswick (SANB) conseiller@sanb.ca
Fédération des francophones de Terre-Neuve et du Labrador (FFTNL) dg@fftnl.ca
Marie-Claude Rioux dg@federationacadienne.ca
Actra mtl – Anna Scollan anna.scollan@gmail.com
Alliance des producteurs francophones du Canada (APFC) capilon@apfc.info
French Canadian Association of Alberta (ACFA) a.vachon-chabot@acfa.ab.ca
Gala film agelbart@galafilm.com
Association Des Francophones du Nunavut (AFNunavut) direction@afnunavut.ca
Association Des Francophones du Nunavut (AFNunavut) presidence@afnunavut.ca
La Fédération des francophones de la Colombie-Britannique communication@ffcb.ca
Société de la francophonie manitobaine danielb@sfm.mb.ca
L'Association acadienne des artistes professionnel.le.s du Nouveau-Brunswick (AAAPNB) jeanpierre.caissie@aaapnb.ca
Fédération Des Communautés Francophones & Acadienne Du Canada communications@fcfa.ca
Quebec English-language Production Council qepcouncil@gmail.com
Société Nationale de l’Acadie (SNA) communications@snacadie.org
Fédération culturelle canadienne-française strategies@fccf.ca
Marie-Christine Morin mcmorin@fccf.ca
Mosaic Film Studio (director/Actor/Writer) vkasongo@yahoo.ca
Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) stephen.thompson@qcgn.ca
Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) peterstarr1@aol.com
Quebec Community Groups Network (QCGN) rita.legault@qcgn.ca
Assemblée communautaire fransaskoise marc.masson@fransaskois.sk.ca
On Screen Manitoba nicole@onscreenmanitoba.com
Qu’anglo Communications & Consulting hugh@quanglo.ca
L'Assemblée de la francophonie de l'Ontario (AFO) csavoie@monassemblee.ca
L'Assemblée de la francophonie de l'Ontario (AFO) bmichaud@monassemblee.ca
Fédération culturelle canadienne-française mcmorin@fccf.ca
Association franco-yukonnaise rnadon@afy.yk.ca
English-Language Arts Network (ELAN) nick.maturo@quebec-elan.org
l’Alliance des producteurs francophones du Canada capilon@apfc.info
La Société de l'Acadie du Nouveau-Brunswick dg@sanb.ca
La Commission scolaire francophone des Territoires du Nord-Ouest (CSFTNO) dgfft@franco-nord.com
Voice of English-speaking Québec info@veq.ca

Date modified: