APPENDIX 1 OLMC CONSULTATION REPORT

Official Minority Language Communities Consultation Report Broadcast Year 2018-19

Introduction

CBC/Radio- celebrates Canadian culture and supports democratic life through a variety of content that informs, enlightens and entertains. Your Stories, Taken to Heart is our new three-year strategy. It builds on the success of our existing services and aims to increase and deepen audience engagement.

We continue to exchange and learn different perspectives and views of Canadians through television, radio and digital platforms. We use these exchanges to enhance our reflection of Official Language Minority Communities (OLMCs).

Condition of Licence Requirement:

As of September 1, 2013, CBC/Radio-Canada has been required under condition of licence to “hold a formal consultation at least once every two years with official language minority communities (OLMCs) located in each of the regions of Atlantic Canada, Ontario, Western Canada, the North and to discuss issues that affect their development and vitality. For the French-language services, the relevant regions are Atlantic Canada, Ontario, Western Canada and the North. For the English-language services the relevant region is Quebec. Consultations shall include independent producers from OLMCs. The licensee shall report annually on consultations that took place that year and demonstrate how feedback from the consultations was taken into consideration in the Corporation’s decision making process.”

1 Overview:

On Thursday, May 2, 2019 from 10 am to 12 noon CBC Quebec invited members of the English-speaking community to attend a public roundtable consultation to discuss CBC programming and its services for English-speaking Quebec. The third of CBC Quebec’s formal CRTC consultations, this public event was free, open to all members of the public and was streamed on cbc.ca/montreal and Facebook live.

During the roundtable discussion and webcast, CBC received input from participants on how we can best serve the English-speaking audience in Quebec on all its platforms. The event was hosted by Debra Arbec. Senior managers included:

● Tracy Seeley, Managing Editor, Journalism, Programming, News ● Sally Catto, General Manager, Programming, CBC Television ● Susan Marjetti, Executive Director, Radio & Audio ● Meredith Dellandrea, Senior Managing Director, CBC Quebec ● Fred Mattocks, General Manager, Local Services

Roundtable discussions also included staff from CBC Quebec: Shari Okeke (Journalist), Nantali Indongo (Host, The Bridge), Kim Garritty (Producer, Quebec AM), Sabrina Marandola (Editor, cbc.ca/montreal), Helen Evans (Managing Editor), Kamila Hinkson (Journalist), Sudha Krishnan (Journalist), Dionne Codrington (Editor, CBC Books), Jaime Little (Producer, Cree unit), and Debbie Hynes (Communications Manager).

Key topics participants raised during the roundtable discussions were:

1) Prioritizing local connections 2) Enhancing digital services and content 3) Reflecting diversity 4) Engaging with young audiences 5) Commitment to original journalism and in-depth storytelling

Below is a summary of how we have been addressing these topics in our work and are using the feedback from the consultation to inform our decisions for the 2019-20 broadcast year. The next consultation is scheduled to take place in spring 2021.

2 1) Prioritizing local connections:

As an OLMC, English-speaking Quebec is home to over one million Canadians. Although most English-speaking Quebecers are in the Montreal area, over 200,000 live in Quebec’s regions; many in rural and isolated communities. Reflecting Quebec’s English-speaking vital communities is core to CBC Quebec.

We continue to hear from our audience how important CBC is in connecting them to the rest of the province and the country. We will continue to strengthen this connection by creating more local and regional content that is relevant English-speaking communities and bringing these stories to the rest of the country.

CBC Quebec information programming on radio, digital and television consistently and regularly informs audiences about programming and events created by members of the English-speaking communities of the region, through interviews, features, discussions and mentions of events.

Below are some highlights of CBC Quebec’s initiatives we are developing and/or have completed in 2018-19 further to feedback received at the consultation that connect and reflect our local communities:

● In October 2018, CBC Quebec visited Mani-Utenam, as the Innu community prepared for Innu Nikamu, the Indigenous music and arts festival that has been held there every year since 1984. While there, we expanded coverage to other stories from Mani-Utenam including a story of children designing a playground to reflect Innu culture. ● Through programming partnerships and collaborations, CBC Quebec shares programming created by members of the OLMC. Recent examples include “Real Talk: Black Stories” an onstage storytelling event in Montreal, recorded for broadcast on CBC Television and cbc.ca/montreal. Another example is Turtle Island Reads, a partnership with Quebec Writers Federation, Indigenous community members, LEARN Quebec and CODE Canada which is designed to bring literature by Indigenous authors into high school classrooms and lessons across the OLMC communities. For 2020, we are looking to deepen the project’s impact in our schools through continued collaboration with CBC’s education team, Curio, Quebec Writers' Federation, LEARN, CODE and Indigenous community partners.

3 ● CBC Quebec is also in the process of developing new initiatives to increase our presence in underserved communities including Indigenous and OLMC communities. These initiatives will be implemented in Spring 2020.

CBC Quebec also works closely with English-speaking associations and communities to ensure we reflect the realities of life in Quebec. In the broadcast year, we partnered with several organizations including Townshippers’ Association, Voice of English Quebec (VEQ), English- language Arts Network (ELAN), Quebec Writers’ Federation (QWF), McGill University, Concordia University, Quebec Community Groups Network (QGCN), Montreal YA Fest, the Morrin Centre’s Imagination Festival and the Blue Metropolis Literary Festival.

In addition, during the broadcast year our scripted and unscripted programming teams met with over 20 Quebec independent producers and are working on a number of projects by these producers.

2) Enhancing digital services and content:

CBC aims to create personal, relevant and engaging experiences that Canadians expect. For our English-speaking minority communities living in Quebec, that means seeing themselves reflected in our digital services as well as radio and television programming. In light of the feedback received at the consultation, CBC enhanced digital content through the following initiatives.

● Montreal’s Climate March in September was a great opportunity to use digital services to create a more engaging experience. Our strategy was to be selective with posts and create engaging content. On the day of the march: ○ Our Facebook drone video was our most popular content and had more than 367,000 views and 14,513 total interactions (likes, comments, shares). Our four hour live stream had 86,000 views and nearly 32,000 engagements. ○ On You Tube, we posted 3 minutes of Thunberg's speech and it had more than 43,000 views and more than 1,200 comments.

● Our digital Journalist regularly covers stories for our digital services about the English- speaking communities across the province. Recent noteworthy coverage includes:

4 ○ Students at the Kiuna Institute in Odanak, the only First Nations college educational facility in the province. We shared stories about how students inspired Eden Robinson's Trickster Series, as well as what it meant for students from First Nations communities across the province to travel to North America's biggest pow-wow. ○ Locals in St-Jean-Port-Joli/L'Islet making new immigrants to the region feel welcome through dancing. ○ Citizens in Ste-Flavie, St-Octave-de-Métis, Ste-Luce talking about how their lives are affected by coastal erosion/resilience as part of our Footprints series.

● Absolutely Canadian broadcast on CBC Television and made available on-demand via CBC GEM included six independent Quebec-produced regional documentaries were included in the series. Notable films reflecting English-speaking realities include:

○ Ketchup and Soya Sauce explores the nuances of mixed Chinese-Canadian marriages in Quebec, in light of their historical taboo and criminalization in this country. ○ A Place of Tide and Time chronicles a pivotal year in the lives of a graduating high school class living on Quebec’s Lower North Shore. ○ The Mosque: A Community’s Struggle documents how members of a Muslim community in Ste. Foy, Quebec navigate in Quebec society during the aftermath of the Mosque shooting that devastated the community in January 2017.

● We are currently developing a strategy to strengthen our connection with digital independent content producers in Quebec. Piloted at CBC stations in , Halifax and Vancouver, CBC Quebec plans to bring the “creator network” to our region in 2020.

3) Reflecting Diversity:

CBC Quebec is committed to inclusion and diversity in programming, including the reflection of Quebec’s Indigenous communities. Below are just a few examples of specific initiatives and programs we have developed to reflect the diverse communities this year:

● CBC Montreal now supports administration and operations for CBC North’s Cree unit, also based in Montreal. The unit includes 11 employees who produce two daily radio

5 programs, Winschgaoug, Eyou Dipajimoon as well as Maamuitaau, a weekly TV magazine program. The management change will enable deeper collaborations with the unit and the Cree community.

● The Cree unit is currently developing a Cree language podcast to reach younger members of the community.

● In 2018, CBC Montreal welcomed Journalist Jessica Deer. As a member of the national CBC Indigenous team, she reports on stories from Quebec’s Indigenous communities and collaborates with the local news team in Montreal. Some of her recent stories include: Exhibition on national headdresses, Hannah Tooktoo’s bicycle journey to raise awareness about suicide, Oka chief resolutions on Kanesatake, and Mohawk language learning

Since 2016, we have opened two internships at CBC Montreal for Indigenous students interested in programming and journalism. We are in discussions with stakeholders in Kahnawake to establish a new internship at CBC Montreal for a student from that community in 2019/20.

As reported in previous years, CBC continues to work with filmmakers through CBC Films (formerly the Breaking Barriers Film Fund). This fund supports the production of English-language feature films that demonstrate creative excellence and cultural relevance, prioritizing films by women, Indigenous, LGBTQ+ and diverse filmmakers. These feature films bring diverse voices and stories that engage and reflect Canadians on the big and small screens. Our commitment is to fund high quality productions that reflect, represent and reframe diverse perspectives through character driven stories that are at the center of the Canadian experience. CBC has invested at least $7.5M into the fund over 3 years.

Three feature films commissioned this year through this fund were from Quebec producers.

● Beans - Written and directed by Tracey Deer and Meredith Vuchnich and produced by Anne-Marie Gélinas (EMAfilms), is about a twelve year old Mohawk girl who is forced to grow up fast and become her own kind of warrier in the bloody and turbulent events during the 1990 Indigenous uprising known as the Oka Crisis;

● Death of a Ladies May - Written and directed by Matt Bissonette and produced by Corey Marr (Corry Marr Productions) and Marie Claude Poulin (MCP Productions), this film is

6 set to Leonard Cohen’s music and verse and tells the story of a womanizing university poetry professor who unexpectedly falls in love when he retreats to a shack in Ireland after discovering he has a brain tumor; and

● Sin La Habana - Written and directed by Kaveh Nabatian and produced by Ménaïc Raoul (Voyelles Films), this film is about a ballet dancer and an ambitious lawyer; young Afro Cubans desperate to leave Cuba. They realize their ticket off the island is for Leonardo to seduce a lonely Iranian Canadian woman who he is teaching salsa lessons. Driven by dance and music, this is a love story about betrayal and hope set against the political realities of sex tourism and immigration.

4) Engaging with young audiences:

Based on the feedback we received at the consultation, and as part of our new three year strategy, we intend to enrich the lives of Canadian children and youth. Below are a few initiatives that will lead us down that path.

● This November 14-16, in collaboration with Canadian Heritage’s Official Language branch, and QCGN, CBC Quebec is organizing Co-LAB: an innovation challenge focused on youth employment challenges for English-speaking Quebecers. We will invite 80 members of the public (youth, diversity, business) to dream up ways we can better address youth employment issues. We are also soliciting input from community organizations and the wider public to discuss challenges. The event will mix crowd- sourcing, educational presentations and workshops.

● In August 2019, CBC Quebec participated in the third annual Bishop’s Forum in Lennoxville Quebec. The goal of the Forum was to provide 50 young English-speaking Quebecers with an inside look at how some of the fundamental institutions of Quebec society work. Participants gained insight into how the National Assembly, political parties, businesses, not-for-profit organizations and the media influence public discourse and public policy. Columnist Spencer Van Dyk spoke with several participants including young leaders from Nunavik on suicide crisis and Indigenous affairs. Jonathan Monpetit moderated an all-party election panel about youth issues. While at the Forum, CBC Quebec offered up yoga sessions and a mindful leadership practice to address issues of youth mental health and wellness.

7 ● Inspired by a violent storm in the late fall of 2018, students at Grosse Ile School put together a short radio drama. It was in part thanks to the skills shared by their teaching artist in residence, Louise Campbell. Breakaway spoke with these students and broadcast an excerpt of the drama on our radio station.

5) Commitment to original journalism and in-depth storytelling

CBC/Radio-Canada is the most trusted media brand in Canada. We are committed to build on that trust and use it to support better-informed communities and enlightened exchanges of and perspectives.

The CBC Montreal Investigates team produces reports on all platforms weekly. The team’s high impact reports on healthcare, education and housing have, in some cases, led to change in public policy. CBC Montreal distinguishes itself from other news outlets by consistently producing original stories, often originating from public tips and messages.

The feedback we received at the consultation emphasized the need to maintain this type of journalism. Below are a few recent examples of our commitment to original journalism and storytelling:

● Months-long wait for death certificates take toll on families ● Sexual abuse victim interrogated by clergy ● Concordia students and staff left in the dark after professor investigated

In addition to investigative journalism, we are committed to original storytelling. In August, reporter Julia Page produced a special digital and audio series, Deep Roots. Young Quebec farmers in their twenties are facing unique challenges in 2019, which include having to deal with online comments and blogs criticizing the industry. Julia spoke with three young farmers who shared their path for this series, starting with Matthew Burns, a sixth generation dairy producer in Cookshire, Quebec.

In April 2019, CBC journalists in Montreal and Quebec City won 10 RTDNA awards for the Central Canada region for their work in 2018. The RTDNA awards recognize journalistic excellence in individual reporting, as well as for programs and stations across radio, television and digital platforms. CBC Montreal's web team has won a half dozen awards for its digital

8 coverage, including, for the fifth consecutive year, the Digital Media award for best large- market website.

CBC Montreal continues to be a leading source of news and information on all our platforms. On digital, CBC Montreal’s site over the last 20 months has averaged 2.2 million unique visitors and the CBC News app has 412,000 unique visitors. This is an increase on both platforms.

On CBC Radio One, every weekday we broadcast two morning programs (Daybreak, Quebec AM), Radio Noon and two programs (Let’s Go formerly Homerun and Breakaway). On weekends, we provide All in a Weekend and the hour-long arts program, The Bridge.

On television CBC Montreal offers newscasts at 6 and 11pm. We also broadcast an additional local one-hour television program, Our Montreal.

CBC Quebec’s social media channels (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) are essential to our digital strategy to serve OLMCs. They not only connect our Journalists directly with the audience in a continuous dialogue, but also increase the coverage of the content through Facebook Live. Specific examples are listed in this report.

Conclusion

CBC values the feedback and ongoing dialogue with our English-speaking audience. Moving forward our vision is to continue to deepen our understanding of our communities and the people who live there. We strive to be a public space where our audience feels they have a voice and a story worth telling. We will continue to endeavour to use the feedback collected through the official CRTC public consultation and our additional consultations to strengthen our relationship with English-speaking Quebecers.

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