OTTAWA – Prime Minister Stephen Harper addressed the CRTC on Wednesday during an election stop with a message aimed squarely at Quebecers who haven’t had a look at the existing structure of the CRTC.
The PM said yesterday “(b)ecause CRTC decisions affect our daily lives, it must reflect our linguistic and cultural reality.” So, “a new Conservative Government will ensure that decisions about French-language broadcasting are made by people who understand the French-language and culture."
That’s happening already but anyway, under the plan:
* The chair of the CRTC will alternate between English speakers and French speakers. (This has been the informal practice for years, but this new policy would entrench it as law)
* The vice-chairperson positions will be held by one English speaker and one French speaker. With Len Katz as vice-chair, telecom and Michel Arpin as vice-chair, broadcasting, that’s how it is now.
* The number of French-language CRTC commissioners must reflect percentage of Canada’s population that is Francophone so at least 25% of them must be French speakers. With four of the 13 commissioners already French-speaking (which is 31% for the math-challenged out there), that benchmark has already been surpassed. (Arpin, Quebec Region commissioner Suzanne Lamarre, and commissioners Michel Morin and Louise Poirier are French-speaking Quebecers).
* Hearings related to French-language or Quebec broadcasters will be heard by panels consisting of a majority of French-language or Quebec CRTC members. (This has been done very often in the past, too. The most recent case was the June TQS sale hearing, which was overseen by chairman Konrad von Finckenstein, along with Arpin and Morin.)
“Quebecers and other French-speaking Canadians are proud of their heritage and their language,” said the Prime Minister, in his press release. “We will help ensure that our linguistic and cultural reality is recognized by the CRTC and in all its radio and television broadcasting decisions."
(Ed note: Well, if re-elected, it will all be law, but as a long-time Commission observer, I can say that Canada’s linguistic and cultural reality has long been recognized by the CRTC in all its radio and television decisions. And, if we can be permitted a bit more editorializing, pointless non-announcements like this, which appear to do something but actually don’t, are a big part of the reason why people have grown rather cynical about politics and politicians.)
– Greg O’Brien
