A Senate standing committee has tabled a report with 22 recommendations relating to the future of CBC/Radio-Canada, including a call to revise the 1991 Broadcasting Act to reflect the current media environment.

The report, titled Time for Change: The CBC/Radio-Canada in the Twenty-first Century, was released following 46 committee hearings and testimony from 107 stakeholders. The report also included information gathered from several fact-finding missions, during which committee members consulted with 177 people.

The first recommendation in the nearly 100-page report from the Senate Standing Committee on Transport and Communications called for the 1991 Broadcasting Act, which outlines CBC/Radio-Canada’s mandate as a public broadcaster, to be modernized to reflect a drastically changed media environment.

“The broadcasting and communications industries have certainly changed, and the committee believes that all aspects of the current mandate of the CBC/Radio-Canada – several undoubtedly still of importance to Canadians – should be re-examined and that the Broadcasting Act should be brought up to date,” the report reads.

One such amendment to the CBC’s mandate the report called for was an increased focus on presenting Canadian history and film. To achieve this, the report notes the Broadcasting Act could be updated to specify that the CBC/Radio-Canada “actively contribute to the flow and exchange of cultural expression, especially by increasing the presentation of Canadian history and Canadian film.”

The report also made several recommendations on the programming side, urging the CBC to commit to airing more amateur sporting events and broadcast high-quality programs not shown on commercial broadcasters. The report also urged the CBC to focus on broadcasting Canadian artists and cultural events, such as performances by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Edmonton Opera, and “discontinue all in-house production of non-news and current affairs programming.”

To help support Canadian programming, the report recommended a portion of CBC/Radio-Canada’s funding be reallocated to an external “superfund” to assist in financing Canadian content that could then later air on public or private nets. This idea was backed by Carmel Smyth of the Canadian Media Guild and media pundit Ken Goldstein of Communic@tions Management.

The committee also took a strong stance on the CBC’s governance structure, arguing that the current model of having Canada’s Prime Minister appoint the head of the public broadcaster is a model rare in the world – for obvious reasons.

Instead, it argued, the CBC’s board of directors should select the head of the organization and that person should report to them. It also called for a more transparent CBC, making salaries, contracts and financial “easily accessible” to the public. It also called for tighter financial controls on non-executive salaries and staffing levels to ensure its operations are in line with those of private broadcasters.

And reflecting the recent Jian Ghomeshi scandal, the report called for CBC to do an internal audit of its policies, instead of making changes to its policies after an only after “serious incidents have occurred.”

The committee was unanimous in its agreement that Canada needs CBC/Radio-Canada. It concluded that “how the CBC/Radio-Canada may cope with future changes in its environment will depend on how the Corporation is coping today” and placed a special emphasis on governance. “Noteworthy is that half of the recommendations address aspects of governance. It is evident that the CBC/Radio-Canada must make changes to operate more efficiently today – and in the future.”

The report will be presented to Senate following the summer break, after which the government will have 150 days to respond to the recommendations. However, it is likely a response to the report will not occur until after the anticipated fall federal election.

– Senate image courtesy of Shutterstock

A full list of the recommendations are below:

• Recommendation 1: The 1991 Broadcasting Act be modernized to reflect the current environment.
• Recommendation 2: CBC/Radio-Canada’s mandate be amended to include increases in the presentation of Canadian history and Canadian film.
• Recommendation 3: CBC/Radio-Canada ensure that its programming reflects all regions of Canada.
• Recommendation 4: CBC/Radio-Canada’s Board of Directors appoint and manage the president and CEO.
• Recommendation 5: CBC/Radio-Canada appear before and report annually to the appropriate committees of both Houses of Parliament.
• Recommendation 6: CBC/Radio-Canada be more transparent in its operations, specifically with regard to the disclosure of financial information, procurement and contracts, and salaries;and it must make such disclosures easily accessible to the public.
• Recommendation 7: The Corporation’s content be archived (CBC/Radio-Canada Library) to enable easy access by Canadians.
• Recommendation 8: CBC/Radio-Canada divest itself of its current real estate holdings and lease facilities and office space required for its operations.
• Recommendation 9: To the extent possible for efficiency and to minimize the CBC/Radio-Canada’s administrative burden, the Corporation’s management and administrative functions be consolidated to the current head office located in the National Capital Region, while ensuring the maintenance of an operational presence in each region of Canada for all anglophones and francophones on the English and French networks, and on other platforms. (The regions are: Atlantic Canada, Quebec, Ontario, the Prairies, British Columbia, and the North.)
• Recommendation 10: As a public broadcaster, the CBC/Radio-Canada must be mindful of its use of public funds, and review all non-executive salaries and compensation to ensure they are in line with those for comparable positions with private broadcasters.
• Recommendation 11: The Board of Directors of the CBC/Radio-Canada conduct a thorough review of all internal policies to reverse the trend of implementing effective policy only after serious incidents have occurred, and to ensure that such policies reflect a modern professional workplace.
• Recommendation 12: The Board of Directors of the CBC/Radio Canada implement stringent restrictions on the external activities, including outside paid-employment, of all senior staff and on-air talent to prevent any possible conflicts of interest.
• Recommendation 13: The Board of Directors of the CBC/Radio-Canada appoint an ombudsman for each of its official language services, provided that he or she is not a current or recent employee (within the previous 2 years) of the Corporation.
• Recommendation 14: Both CBC/Radio-Canada Ombudsmen report to the Corporation’s Board of Directors to ensure accountability at all levels of the Corporation, including the Senior Executive Team.
• Recommendation 15: CBC/Radio-Canada, in consultation with the Government of Canada, explore alternative funding models and additional ways to generate revenue to minimize the Corporation’s dependence on government appropriations.
• Recommendation 16: CBC/Radio-Canada examine the costs and the benefits of commercial advertising on both the English and French services.
• Recommendation 17: A portion of the CBC/Radio-Canada’s funding be reallocated to an external “superfund” to help finance the creation of Canadian content, such as Canadian history and nature documentaries and high-quality comedy and drama, which could then be broadcast on CBC/Radio-Canada.
• Recommendation 18: CBC/Radio-Canada focus on showing high-quality programs that are unlikely to be offered by commercial broadcasters.
• Recommendation 19: CBC/Radio-Canada invest in and offer services in those areas where the Canadian public’s needs are underserved by the private sector. As a public broadcaster, CBC/Radio-Canada needs to use its resources to complement what is offered to Canadians through other sources.
• Recommendation 20: CBC/Radio-Canada review how resources are allocated within the organization with respect to the amounts and proportion of total spending going to various programming genres.
• Recommendation 21: CBC/Radio-Canada discontinue all in-house production of non-news and current affairs programming, and instead emphasize the broadcasting of performances by Canadian artists and cultural events, such as the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo, the Edmonton Opera, and the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal.
• Recommendation 22: CBC/Radio-Canada air more amateur sporting events such as Canadian Interuniversity women’s and men’s sports, minor league sports, etc.