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Minutes

First Meeting of the Official Languages and Minority Communities-CRTC Discussion Group

27 September 2007, Lord Elgin Hotel, Ottawa

1) Welcome by Annie Laflamme 

Ms. Laflamme welcomed the participants and went over the agenda.

2) Speech by Robert A. Morin

Mr. Morin thanked the participants for attending the first meeting of the Official Languages and Minority Communities-CRTC discussion group. He took the opportunity to remind them that the CRTC is subject to section 41 of the Official Languages Act (OLA) and that linguistic duality is part of its enabling legislation.

He said that it was essential that Official Languages and Minority Communities participate in public processes so that the CRTC can take their interests into account in making its decisions and developing its policies. He introduced Ms. Renée Fairweather, the new Official Languages Champion at the CRTC. She succeeds Diane Rhéaume, who did an excellent job.

3) Speech by Renée Fairweather

Ms. Fairweather said that she was very familiar with the official languages file, and that she was made aware of the challenges of linguistic duality very early, as she came from Francophone and Anglophone backgrounds. She is happy to be the new Official Languages Champion at the CRTC, and will be pleased to help Official Languages and Minority Communities in their approaches to the Commission's senior management.

4) Explanation of the CRTC's operations

Ms. Laflamme reminded the attendees of the vital importance of Official Languages and Minority Communities participating in public processes, since the Commission can only make decisions on the basis of information that is in the public record. As such, Official Languages and Minority Communities have every reason to participate in public processes and make their viewpoints known by filing submissions with the Commission and/or by appearing in person before the Commission when possible and important for the communities.

Ms. Laflamme emphasized that an important public process for OLCMs is currently in progress: the Review of the regulatory frameworks for broadcasting distribution undertakings and discretionary programming service (CRTC 2007-10-2). She mentioned that 19 October 2007 is the deadline for interventions and 16 November 2007 is the deadline for replies, as indicated in Broadcasting Notice of Public Hearing CRTC 2007-10-2. She suggested examining in particular paragraphs 29, 35 and 77 of the Notice and encouraged the members of the discussion group to participate.

She mentioned that the renewal periods for several broadcasting licences (television) issued by the CRTC will expire in the near future. These broadcasting licences are usually renewed every seven years, including the licences for TVA and TQS; this is an opportunity for Official Languages and Minority Communities to express their concerns, needs and expectations to the CRTC.

Ms. Laflamme said that she would inform the discussion group of licence renewals that were relevant to them as their dates became known.

5) Round-table discussion

Discussion period regarding the CRTC's work. Several important issues for Official Languages and Minority Communities were raised.

Resources, public processes at the CRTC and new technologies

  • Official Languages and Minority Communities have few resources to devote to CRTC public processes.

  • It is difficult for non-profit organizations (NPOs) to stay abreast of CRTC public processes and participate in them.

  • Relevance of assigning a single organization to represent several Official Languages and Minority Communities at the CRTC

  • Official Languages and Minority Communities would like to be better informed of technological developments and new trends, particularly on certain topics, such as podcasts.

  • The CRTC must ensure that it has the financial resources necessary to invite Official Languages and Minority Communities to attend future meetings.

CRTC's "obligations" to Official Languages and Minority Communities

  • Does the CRTC have an absolute obligation to protect Official Languages and Minority Communities interests?

  • The CRTC approach of depending mainly on market forces often has the effect of excluding Official Languages and Minority Communities from certain competitive processes due to their small size and limited resources; for example, obtaining community radio licences. Can the CRTC remedy this situation?

  • It is important for the Canadian broadcasting system to reflect French Canadian culture from the entire country, not just from Quebec.

  • The CRTC should reserve frequencies for community radio (Official Languages and Minority Communities).

Other factors

  • An important step would be to have a CRTC commissioner from a community environment or from an Official Languages and Minority Communities.

  • The Governor in Council should issue a directive to the CRTC that would give linguistic duality predominance over the various objectives of the Broadcasting Act.

  • Ms. Laflamme explained that the government, not the CRTC, is responsible for making these decisions, and invites the Official Languages and Minority Communities to share their positions with the Minister of Canadian Heritage.

During the discussions, CRTC staff provided specifications and avenues, including:

  • Valérie Dionne explained the importance of appearing, particularly for issues where various objectives of the Act are contradictory, and that the Commission must weigh each objective in making its decision.

  • Paul Godin explained that in the Telecommunications Act there is a clause enabling the CRTC to issue a costs order for the submission of studies supporting the claims of certain Official Languages and Minority Communities.

  • Robert Ramsay explained that there is a research group whose studies include new technologies, and that representatives of the group could attend the next discussion group meeting.

6) Discussion group mandate

In its meeting, the discussion group agreed to adopt the outline of the following mandate.

Preamble
The Official Languages and Minority Communities-CRTC working group was created within the CRTC's action plan for implementing section 41 of the Official Languages Act. The group's activities will aim to help the CRTC to enhance the vitality and development of Official Languages and Minority Communities and promote the bilingual character of Canada.

Mandate
The working group is a forum for the CRTC and communities to identify means for maximizing community participation in CRTC public processes and to make it easier for the Commission to take communities' situations into account in making its decisions.

7) Discussion group work plan

The group agreed to prepare a three-year plan; additional discussions will be required to develop the three-year plan at the next discussion group meeting. It was decided that the plan outline should include the following topics.

  • Thematic workshops

    The following topics will be covered at discussion group meetings.
    • New media
    • Telecommunications
    • Legal aspects of broadcasting and telecommunications in Canada
    • Sharing of experiences

  • Current and future CRTC public processes that affect Official Languages and Minority Communities

    CRTC staff will identify current and future public processes that affect Official Languages and Minority Communities.

  • Tools and processes

    The CRTC must provide a distribution list to inform Official Languages and Minority Communities of public processes affecting them. This would be a prime example of a positive measure to promote the development of Official Languages and Minority Communities, as set out in section 41 of the OLA.

    The discussion group must promote the cooperation of various organizations representing Official Languages and Minority Communities that wish to work effectively with the CRTC. In addition, Official Languages and Minority Communities should focus on the processes that are most important for them to maximize the effect of their efforts.

    The frequency of discussion group meetings should be determined. The group, however, did agree that it would be useful to meet at least once, and probably twice, more in the 2007-2008 fiscal year. It was also suggested that the next discussion group meeting be held at the same time as other national Official Languages and Minority Communities meetings to maximize the number of participants present. In addition, it was suggested that a co-chair be selected. The group will appoint a co-chair at the next meeting.

  • Assessment framework

    An assessment framework for the performance of activities by the discussion group on CRTC public processes (qualitative, quantitative) should be developed.

  • Making the CRTC aware of Official Languages and Minority Communities concerns

    The staff invited Official Languages and Minority Communities to come to the National Capital Region to make presentations to CRTC commissioners, to give Official Languages and Minority Communities the opportunity to present their concerns and issues. Additionally, when CRTC commissioners are in minority communities to chair public hearings, CRTC staff will, when possible, facilitate an informal meeting between one or several CRTC commissioners and representatives from the community.

Annie Laflamme,
Official Languages Coordinator
Director, CRTC French Television Policy and Applications
and co-chair of the Official Languages and Minority Communities-CRTC discussion group
October 2007

Encl. Attendees
Participant comments (feedback)
Speech by Robert A. Morin, CRTC Secretary General

1st meeting of the Official Languages and Minority Communities-CRTC discussion group
27 September 2007, Lord Elgin Hotel, Ottawa

Attendees

Pierre Bourbeau Director General, Fédération culturelle canadienne-française (FCCF)
Denis Desgagné Director General, ACF
Valérie Dionne Senior Advisor to Secretary General and Legal Counsel, CRTC
Kevin Dobie Quebec Community group network, QCGN
Renée Fairweather Director General - Strategic Communications and Official Languages Champion, CRTC
Madeleine Faucher Chair, Assemblée de la francophonie de l'Ontario
Peter Foster Television Manager, CRTC
Paul Godin Senior Director of Telecommunications
Marjolaine Guillemette Manager, Canadian Heritage
Benoît Henry Director General, ANIM
Frédéric B. Janelle Senior Analyst, French-language television, CRTC
Annie Laflamme Director, French-language television and Official Languages Coordinator, CRTC
Robert A. Morin Secretary General, CRTC
Claire Noël Analyst, Canadian Heritage
Serge Paquin Secretary General, Alliance des radios communautaires (ARC)
Cyrilda Poirier Fédération des francophones de Terre-Neuve et du Labrador (FFTNL)
Léo-Paul Provencher Director General, FFT
Serge Quinty Director of Communications, Fédération des communautés francophones et acadienne du Canada (FCFA)
Robert Ramsay Senior Director, Radio Policy, CRTC
 

Comments on the meeting of 27 September 2007

Pros

Cons

  • Good start!
  • Well Organized!
  • Relevant, constructive meeting
  • Respectful discussions
  • Willingness by CRTC to accomplish and achieve results
  • Warm welcome
  • Excellent initiative by CRTC
  • Very good, great listening, very much appreciated
  • Good exchanges, everyone paid attention, valuable content
  • Good flexibility in the agenda
  • Openness to our contributions
  • In my opinion, this meeting helped us establish an interesting basis that will drive Francophone and Acadian Communities (FACs) and the CRTC to work together to develop FACs
Challenges:
  • Ensure continuous follow-up
  • Have the means to achieve our ambitions
 

Date Modified: 2008-07-22

 

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