Promising dialogue between the CRTC and communities

• Around-the-clock news service in both official languages across the country

Robert Morin, Secretary General of the CRTC, at a discussion group meeting.

In collaboration with Frédéric Janelle, Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommuications Commission

The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) recently launched an initiative that promises to have positive spin-offs for official-language minority communities (OLMCs). The OLMC-CRTC discussion group held its first meeting in September 2007, assembling representatives from across the country. The group's objective is twofold: to foster better understanding of OLMC issues by the CRTC, and better knowledge by OLMCs of the operations and role of public processes in the CRTC's decisions. It is thereby hoped that the communities will be more actively involved in public processes, so that the Commission may better take their interests into account in its decision-making and policy development. Among the measures to be taken in this perspective, the CRTC will soon create a section on its website devoted to the communities. The discussion group will appoint an OLMC representative as joint president, a duty to be shared with Annie Laflamme, Official Languages Coordinator for the CRTC.

The CRTC took advantage of this meeting to announce the nomination of Renée Fairweather as the new official languages champion, replacing Diane Rhéaume, who fulfilled that role for several years.

Around-the-clock news service in both official languages across the country

In collaboration with Frédéric Janelle, Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommuications Commission

The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) issued a decision in July 2007 that will benefit official-language minority communities.This decision requires certain satellite distribution companies and broadcasting distribution undertakings to include, as part of their basic digital service, a network of 24-hour news services in English (CBS Newsworld) in Quebec and in French outside Quebec. In that decision, the CRTC recognized the exceptional significance of such services for the communities and is of the opinion that all Anglophones and Francophones in Canada should have access to a news and information service in their own language.

For more information, consult the CRTC's site, under the heading Decisions, Notices and Orders at www.crtc.gc.ca.

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