Question Period Note: CBC/Radio-Canada’s Mandate and Funding Pressures

Some stakeholders have expressed concerns that CBC/Radio-Canada competes with the private sector for advertising revenues, and recommend that the Government should impose stricter guidelines on CBC/Radio‑Canada with regard to its mandate and focus. On November 14, 2019, CBC/Radio-Canada announced workforce reductions of approximately 30 positions, most of them in the Corporation’s newsroom in Toronto. On November 20, 2019, CBC/Radio-Canada announced that it is reversing its decision to consolidate local radio newscasts in Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut, in light of backlash from staff, listeners and politicians, including the Yukon Premier and Finance Minister.

• As the national public broadcaster, CBC/Radio-Canada plays a vital role in providing access to programs and services in the digital era. That is why in Budget 2016 the Government reinvested $675 million in CBC/Radio-Canada over five years, and $150 million per year on an ongoing basis.
• The review of the Broadcasting Act is how we will position CBC/Radio-Canada to be a leading partner among Canada’s cultural and news organizations.

• CBC/Radio-Canada is a Crown corporation that operates at arm’s length from the Government, but it reports annually to Parliament through the Minister of Canadian Heritage. The Treasury Board approves the capital budget annually, and the Auditor General of Canada audits the financial statements in CBC/Radio-Canada’s Annual Report.
• CBC/Radio-Canada has two revenue streams: parliamentary appropriations and self-generated revenues, mainly from advertising and subscriptions (to discretionary services, for example). CBC/Radio-Canada received $1.21 billion in parliamentary appropriations for the year-ending March 31, 2019. This figure includes $150 million additional annual funding that was announced in Budget 2016 to support investments in enhanced services including digital Canadian content, and will be provided on an ongoing basis. The Corporation also earned $490 million in revenue, including $249 million from advertising.
• The Canadian broadcasting system is undergoing structural changes, which affect most significantly the advertising market, one of television’s major revenue sources. In response to this shift in the ecosystem, the Corporation announced in 2014, in its five-year strategic plan, A space for us all, that it was reducing its workforce, real estate footprint, local programming, in house production and seeking to maximize self-generated revenues.
• In Budget 2016, the Government reinvested $675 million in CBC/Radio-Canada over five years, and $150 million per year on an ongoing basis, to enable the CBC/Radio-Canada to create Canadian content which will be more digital, local and ambitious in scope.”
• On May 22, 2019, CBC/Radio-Canada shared its three-year strategic vision, Your Stories, Taken to Heart. CBC/Radio-Canada continues to transform into a modern national public broadcaster that Canadians value by focusing on three themes: 1. strengthening trust in news and democracy; 2. building a lifelong connection with all Canadians; and 3. promoting and supporting Canadian culture and values at home and around the world.
• On November 14, 2019, CBC/Radio-Canada announced the elimination of approximately 30 positions, most of which are situated in the Corporation’s newsroom in Toronto.
• On November 20, 2019, CBC/Radio-Canada announced that it is reversing its decision to consolidate local radio newscasts in Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut, in light of backlash from staff, listeners and politicians, including the Yukon Premier and Finance Minister. The Corporation also indicated that is it committed to getting out into more northern communities.

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