You may not know Richard French yet, but some people believe he’ll be the CRTC’s next chairperson. And in today’s Globe and Mail, John Doyle discovered French has strong views about the request of Canadian culture groups to have broadcasters spend money on Canadian talent for their drama programs. Doyle notes the “pitch made by the creative groups isn’t taken seriously by the CRTC. In particular, it is dismaying to read the comments and questions of Commissioner Richard French… to call him a skeptic about Canadian-content regulation would be an understatement.”
     Responding to suggestions from film director Tim Southam that broadcasters spend just 7% of their ad revenue on hiring Canadian talent, French replied, with a heavy dose of sarcasm:

“We are going to require them to invest a minimum of their revenue in Canadian drama. We are going to require them to produce a minimum amount per week. We are going to tell them when they have to schedule that drama. We are going to require them to pay an unspecified amount for an unspecified source to promote the drama. We are going to require them to take a percentage of the total moneys and invest them in the development of scripts and projects. We are going to regulate the entertainment shows so that only real, legitimate, bona-fide Canadians get built into stars in our star system promotion machinery.
     ”You know, I know the purposes for all those recommendations and, you know, I see the happy coincidence between your members’ interests and the Canadian public interest, but I submit to you that there is not a hell of a lot left for a programmer to do after you or we have told them to do all those things, is there?”

Commissioner French, coincidentally, served as a senior executive for a private firm with broadcasting interests. He was Group Vice President for with Bell Canada and was the Quebec minister of communications for a time. He also served in the Government of Canada at the Privy Council Office — the office where CRTC commissioners are appointed.
     Doyle’s reaction: “Cry me a river, Commissioner. The vastly profitable commercial broadcasting racket in Canada doesn’t need a break. It needs regulation and a sharp reminder about cultural responsibility. Later, they can cry all the way to the banks. These days, the CRTC’s policy is to pamper the pampered and let everyone thrive except the creative community in Canadian TV. And yes, it’s a disgrace.”

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	Drama, The CRTC