Summary:
In Budget 2016 the Federal government invested an additional $75 million in CBC/Radio-Canada, rising to $150M for 2017 and beyond. CBC/Radio-Canada’s “Accountability Plan” reports on how those additional resources are invested. While the Commission recommended increased funding to CBC/Radio-Canada, public funding cannot be tied to specific types of programming which would conflict with the programming independence set out in the Broadcasting Act.
The Call to Action:
We call upon the federal government to restore and increase funding to the CBC/Radio-Canada, to enable Canada’s national public broadcaster to support reconciliation, and to be properly reflective of the diverse cultures, languages and perspectives of Aboriginal peoples, including, but not limited to:
i) Increasing Aboriginal programming, including Aboriginal-language speakers.
ii) Increasing equitable access for Aboriginal peoples to do jobs, leadership positions and professional development opportunities within the organization.
iii) Continuing to provide dedicated news coverage and online public information resources on issues of concern to Aboriginal peoples and all Canadians, including the history and legacy of residential schools and the reconciliation process.
Analysis:
In Budget 2016 the Federal government invested an additional $75 million in CBC/Radio-Canada, rising to $150M for 2017 and beyond. CBC/Radio-Canada’s “Accountability Plan” reports on how those additional resources are invested.
While the Commission recommended increased funding to CBC/Radio-Canada, funding cannot be tied to specific types of programming which would conflict with the programming independence set out in the Broadcasting Act.
All broadcasters in Canada have a responsibility under the Broadcasting Act to recognize in their programming the “special place of aboriginal peoples.” CBC/Radio-Canada, believes this is an important part of its mandate. Engaging Indigenous Canadians is vital to the quality of its news coverage and programming on all platforms—and not just for Indigenous stories but all stories.
Regarding increasing Aboriginal programming:
Programming includes radio programs like Unreserved, hosted by Cree broadcaster and poet Rosanna Deerchild, podcast Telling our Twisted Histories, hosted by Kaniehti:io Horn.
CBC North produces radio, television and online news services from seven communities in the three territories and Quebec (Whitehorse, Yellowknife, Inuvik, Hay River, Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet, and Kuujjuaq) broadcasting in eight Indigenous languages: Tłı̨chǫ (Tlicho), Inuktitut, Inuvialuktun, Dëne Sųłıné (Chipewyan), North Slavey, South Slavey, Gwich’in and Cree. It is a vital service to many in the North whose first language is neither English nor French. In addition to offering services on CBC North, our main networks and regional stations also showcase Indigenous news, issues, culture and people on a regular basis. CBC North broadcasts to 78 communities in Yukon, N.W.T. and Nunavut, and 13 communities in Quebec for a total of 91 communities.
There is also a Cree Unit based out of CBC Montreal, which offers content in Cree language to Quebec’s James Bay communities.
In 2015-16, the CBC Indigenous unit, along with the Winnipeg investigative I-Team, launched the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women project. A second phase of the project called Unresolved: Case Closed or Murder? was launched the following year.
CBC expanded the national CBC Indigenous unit in 2017. Radio-Canada runs the French-language Espace Autochtones unit based out of Montreal.
Regarding equitable access for Indigenous people to jobs, leadership positions and professional development opportunities within the CBC/Radio Canada:
As of October 2021, 1.3 per cent of CBC/Radio Canada employees self-identify as Indigenous.
CBC has also launched a Diverse Emerging Leaders Program, which is “designed for reaching visible minorities, Indigenous Peoples and persons with disabilities who will be part of our next generation of CBC leaders.”
Regarding the recommendation to continue to provide dedicated news coverage and online public information resources on issues of concern to Aboriginal peoples and all Canadians, including the history and legacy of residential schools and the reconciliation process:
In March 2018, CBC launched this national, interactive database that monitors the progress of all of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 94 Calls to Action. This database will be updated as developments occur.
In May 2017, CBC partnered with Reconciliation Canada for a livestream of the National Thought Table Event.
In addition to this, in October 2016, CBC hosted The Road to Reconciliation, a special one-hour panel on the topic of reconciliation.