| RCI ACTION COMMITTEE Defending Radio Canada International - Canada's Voice to the World |
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| Senior Policy Advisor responds to the Committee on behalf of Sheila Copps, Minister, Canadian Heritage Two months after the RCI Action Committee sent a letter to Sheila Copps, the Minister responsible for RCI, we have received a response from her office. In our May 9 e-mail we warned the Minister of the coming cuts, and called for a moratorium. Even so, the first wave of programming cuts came into effect at the beginning of June. We emphasized that these cuts do not respect the Corporate Policy that assures RCI will produce "daily shortwave broadcasts" "designed to attract an international audience." According to her Senior Policy Advisor, Jess Dutton, she "carefully noted your comments". And he writes: "The Government is confident that the CBC will continue to fulfil this mandate." How cutting all RCI-produced newscasts on the weekend fulfils our mandate is difficult to understand. The letter also refers to a statement by Robert Rabinovitch, the president of our domestic service, the CBC. In the April 18 e-mail to staff he very publicly omitted to include RCI's English and French programming when he listed our different services. This again suggests an approach that is at odds with the Corporate Policy of both RCI and the CBC itself. The Action Committee will have a formal response to Minister Copps next week after our regular Wednesday meeting. In the meantime, here is the e-mail we received on Thursday. From: Min_Copps@pch.gc.ca To: rciaction@yahoo.ca Date: Thu, 5 Jul 2001 11:07:24 -0400 Dear Wojtek Gwiazda: On behalf of the Honourable Sheila Copps, Minister of Canadian Heritage, thank you for your correspondence of May 9, 2001, regarding recent changes at Radio Canada International (RCI). Ms. Copps appreciates your advising her of the concerns of the RCI Action Committee and has carefully noted your comments about recent programming and other operational decisions made by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) with respect to RCI. The CBC is an autonomous agency that operates independently of the Government and its Board of Directors and senior management are responsible for its operations and decisions. It should be noted that there has been no reduction in the Government's ongoing financial support to RCI. The CBC is mandated to provide an international broadcasting service and does so through RCI. The Government is confident that the CBC will continue to fulfil this mandate. On April 18, 2001, Mr. Robert Rabinovitch, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation, indicated that the CBC will be working with the Government over the coming months to determine the Corporation's needs and obligations with respect to serving audiences abroad. Your suggestion that RCI employees participate in this process is a matter more appropriately discussed with your management team. The federal government's commitment to RCI has enabled it to carry out its valuable public service broadcasting role of projecting Canada's voice abroad and conveying Canadian values to foreign audiences. I trust that this information is useful. Please accept our best wishes. Yours sincerely, Jess Dutton Senior Policy Advisor More on Sheila Copps and RCI: Previous statements Copps answer to Opposition question in the House of Commons |