Those who thought the 13-day CBC licencing hearing would be boring, think again.
By Denis Carmel
GATINEAU – In an addendum to the Notice of Hearing on the renewal of the CBC’s broadcast licences, issued on December 18, the CRTC voiced its irritation at the Corporation in a rather terse manner.
“The Commission is dissatisfied with the Corporation’s reply. It is important for the Commission to have the necessary information to consider how the Corporation is, through its programming, reflecting the circumstances and aspirations of all members of Canadian society. The Commission intends to question the Corporation on these issues at the 11 January 2021 public hearing.”
The information requested on November 10, had to do with how the production of its in-house programming includes in key production roles individuals that reflect the diversity of Canadian society—which includes women, Indigenous peoples, ethnic and multicultural communities, Canadians with disabilities and Canadians who identify as LGBTQ2.
The Corporation replied on December 1 that it could not provide any of the requested information regarding the key production roles held by members of the diverse Canadian population. It cited confidentiality concerns and indicated that it was not in a position to provide the data due to the voluntary nature of employee disclosure. The Corporation further argued that it experienced difficulties with translating its internal job classifications into the Commission’s categories of “key leadership positions.”
For those who had doubts on the hearing actually going ahead, it now appears obvious that the hearing will be held starting on January 11 for 13 days (Please click here for the agenda).
Also part of the discussion at the hearing will be the “Tandem” issue.
The Commission, by letter, responded to a submission by former CBC employees who requested that the Commission commence an investigation on CBC’s past, current and planned use of branded/sponsored content or add the issue of “Tandem” to the process of the hearing.
“The letter filed by former CBC employees will be added to the public record of the 2019-379 process, but the record will not be re-opened for further comment at this time. Parties to the 2019-379 proceeding that will appear at the oral phase of the public hearing will be able to make representations with respect to the Tandem initiative while all parties to the proceeding will be permitted to file comments as a part of their final written submissions. The CBC/SRC will be permitted the opportunity to reply. The Commission may choose to question the CBC/SRC further at the oral phase of the public hearing,” reads the CRTC’s response to the former employees.
We asked CBC for comment on the Commission’s curt letter and company spokesperson Leon Mar responded in an email. “With regard to the most recent broadcasting notice of consultation, we will be addressing these issues during the public hearings that begin on January 11,” he said.
“We are continuing to prioritize and accelerate our plans to reflect contemporary Canada. Earlier this week, we published our latest update on our diversity and inclusion initiatives; you can read it here.”
As a reminder here what the Commission said in the 2013 renewal: “The Act permits the renewal of broadcasting licences for a term of up to seven years. The CBC requested a five-year licence term for its services, considering that a term of this length was appropriate in light of the pace of change in the broadcasting industry. The Commission agrees with the CBC that a five-year term is appropriate.”
And yet…
