The president and CEO of Quebecor, Pierre Karl Péladeau, was on the set of the show “Le Bilan” Tuesday evening to answer questions from Paul Larocque related to the media crisis.
• Read also: TVA is in its “last entrenchments”, warns Péladeau to the CRTC
• Read also: The situation is “unsustainable,” Bell argues before the CRTC
• Read also: $13.2 billion in new spending over six years: no return to balanced budget in sight in federal economic update
Here are some of the answers he provided:
Could other jobs be eliminated at TVA?
“I am not a guarantor of the future. What I can do today is ensure that we continue to make our representations to make it clear to the authorities that they should be worried about what happens next.”
Should the federal government back down on its Bill C-18? What should Ottawa do?
“In the medium and long term, we must take the necessary measures to protect our information ecosystem and our ecosystem of independent productions”
“It took five years to impose sales tax on Netflix, even though there is not a product or service in Canada that is not taxed! I am willing for us to say that we will henceforth impose funds or royalties payable to funds to redistribute within our industry, but if the Americans say no, what are we going to do? Are we going to cut Netflix? We’re going to cut Apple TV+”
“You have to have free rein. We must have the sources of financing to try to optimize and channel our energies to meet the needs of the population.
What do you think of the many citizens who are coming together to share their concerns about the future of regional information?
“This is a completely legitimate concern and please know that we will do what is necessary to continue covering regional news. We will do it differently, but it will certainly still be at the heart of our concerns”