The job offer published by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to find its next president considers it “preferable”, but not “mandatory”, to master both languages. A disturbing freedom since the CRTC will have to enforce Bill C-11 on the distribution of content on the Internet.
It is “an aberration that it is not an obligation for such a position” to master both languages, given the disparity that exists in Canada between the English and French broadcasting systems, says the spokesperson for the Bloc Québécois in terms of heritage, Martin Champoux. The Member of Parliament for the riding of Drummond illustrates this discrepancy by citing television viewing statistics in French, where nine of the ten most-watched programs are produced in Quebec, and those in English, where nine of the ten most-watched programs are produced in the USA.
“It’s fundamental for the next president to fully understand these two realities,” said Martin Champoux, especially in the context of the imminent adoption of Bill C-11, which gives the CRTC the role of regulating digital platforms and to crack down if they do not adequately promote English and French Canadian content to their users.
A threatened alternation?
The federal government is looking for a replacement for the current and controversial CRTC Chairman, Ian Scott, whose term expires at the end of the summer. It was decided last month that his five-year term would not be renewed. Historically, there is an alternation between an Anglophone and a Francophone person at the head of the federal organization.
After Ian Scott, a native English speaker who also speaks French, we would normally expect someone from a Francophone background to take the job. However, Ottawa has decided to broaden the criteria to allow for more diversity. The job description clearly states that the government will give preference “to individuals who belong to one of the following groups: women, aboriginals, persons with disabilities and visible minorities”.
The three names circulating in rumors since the departure of Ian Scott was announced are those of Jean La Rose, Christianne Laizner and Janet Yale. All three meet the criteria set out above, but none of the three is of French-speaking origin.
Questioned Monday afternoon during question period in the House of Commons by Martin Champoux on the possibility that “a person who does not speak French is in charge of a whole section of our culture”, the federal Minister of Heritage Pablo Rodriguez replied that “it is essential that the next president of the CRTC be able to express himself properly in both languages”.
Preferable but not mandatory
The criteria for applying clearly indicate that “the Government of Canada will take into account the bilingualism and diversity of applicants”, but then adds that “proficiency in both official languages would be preferable”.
This turn of phrase irritates the Bloc Québécois. The federal party is more generally concerned about a strong trend within the public service where the closer the position is to the top of the hierarchy, the rarer the number of French-speaking candidates.
In a report broadcast in mid-May, Radio-Canada precisely revealed that, among the executive positions within the federal apparatus, four out of five were occupied by Anglophones. This is less than the demographic weight of Francophones in Canada, which is 23%. It is also far behind the weight of Francophones in the entire public service, which is 31%.
The Bloc Québécois also points out that with its revised mandate under Bill C-11, the CRTC cannot afford to have at its head a person who does not fully understand the culture of one or other of the two main languages spoken in the country. “The mere knowledge of both languages as defined [dans la description du poste de président du CRTC] is largely insufficient,” believes Martin Champoux.
Bill C-11 aims to compel online distribution platforms to promote the dissemination of Canadian content. The most recent version of this bill more specifically regulates the distribution of commercial content, i.e. content produced in a professional manner. It is up to the CRTC to decide whether platforms, such as Netflix and Spotify, among others, comply with the requirements of the law. It will be able to distribute fines to companies at fault if it deems that the promotion of Canadian content is insufficient.