Digital strategy, broadband for urban poor, not addressed
OTTAWA – After years of neglect, outright disdain and budget cuts from the previous government, CBC/Radio-Canada is getting what some consider a much needed infusion of cash. The Liberals’ Budget 2016 is injecting $675 million over the next five years into the national public broadcaster.
The money – $75 million this fiscal year and $150 million in each of the four subsequent years – will be used “to disseminate and support world-class Canadian content and to provide Canadians with better access to programs and services in the digital era,” said the budget.
Critical to this objective is the realization of the CBC’s Strategy 2020: A space for us all.
"This is great news for CBC/Radio-Canada, and for Canadians who support public broadcasting," said Hubert Lacroix, president and CEO, in a statement. "This reinvestment is a vote of confidence by government and by Canadians in our programs, our people, and our vision for the future."
Budget 2016 recognizes that digital platforms are an important part of CBC’s broadcasting toolkit. “To remain relevant and successful, the CBC/Radio-Canada needs to invest in new multi-platform content and more innovative programs. Restored funding will also support investment in enhanced services, such as the digitization of archives,” reads the budget.
The budget also tasks Heritage Minister Melanie Joly with keeping the CBC on its toes, too, with a new accountability plan: “The Minister of Canadian Heritage will work with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation/Radio-Canada to develop a five-year accountability plan,” reads the budget. “Budget 2016 proposes to invest $675 million in the (CBC) to disseminate and support world-class Canadian content and to provide Canadians with better access to programs and services in the digital era.”
The Canadian Media Guild (CMG) welcomed the increased federal funding but called on the CBC to use the money to stop cutting services and selling assets.
CMG stated that it hoped the new money would allow CBC to halt previously planned cutbacks. The shackles are now off, said Marc-Philippe Laurin, adding that the public broadcaster should put a stop to job cuts and asset sales until a new plan is in place.
"The Minister of Canadian Heritage will work with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation/Radio-Canada to develop a five-year accountability plan."
Funding to the national public broadcaster is part of a larger $1.9 billion commitment to Canada’s cultural sector. More than two-thirds of this money ($1.3 billion over the next five years) will be allocated to arts and cultural institutions. In addition to CBC’s $675 million, the Canadian Council of the Arts receives $550 million; Telefilm Canada gets $22 million; and the National Film Board of Canada will be endowed with $13.5 million.
Many in the Canadian cultural sector have argued that international endeavours are critical to ensuring the long-term success of domestic creative industries. To this end, the federal government is allocating $35 million over the next two years “to support the promotion of Canadian artists and cultural industries abroad.”
The Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) lauded the government for injecting money to support Canadian cultural industries’ international efforts.
“Independently produced programming already generates significant international returns, while still having enormous export potential,” said Reynolds Mastin, president and CEO.
The Minister of Canadian Heritage will be consulting with industry stakeholders over the next year on how to best support the export of Canadian cultural content.
Budget 2016 also recognized the importance that broadband connectivity plays across all parts of Canadian society. But it’s particularly critical in rural and remote parts of the country to access a broad range of services from healthcare to education to government.
“Access to better, more reliable broadband connections will provide Canadians in rural and remote communities with new opportunities to participate in the digital economy and to take advantage of advances in telehealth, e-learning and remote access to government services,” stated the budget. With this in mind, the federal government has committed $500 million over five years starting this fiscal year towards the development of “a new program to extend and enhance broadband service in rural and remote communities.”
The Canadian Cable Sytems Alliance was gratified to see this in the budget. “This is an historic investment in Canada’s communications infrastructure and one that is sorely needed,” said Alyson Townsend, CEO of the CCSA (which represents more than 115 independent cable, telco and IPTV companies serving over 700,000 Canadians in many small towns and rural areas). “These funds will go a long way to connecting Canadians currently unserved by our broadband infrastructure, and will help enhance economic productivity and connectivity in communities that need it most. This is precisely what CCSA advocated for in the pre-budget period. This investment recognizes that communications infrastructure is just as important as roads and bridges in the 21st century economy.”
The details of this program, however, will be announced in the coming months and years as only $6 million is promised from now until the end of 2017 and $81 million the year after that. Also, the budget was silent (as was the previous government) on any sort of coherent national digital strategy, or what might be done to aid the millions of Canadians who live in urban areas and can’t afford computers or the high speed connectivity which is all around them already.
