The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) is welcoming a recommendation from this week’s Senate report on CBC/Radio-Canada, suggesting the public broadcaster do more to collaborate with private and community media.

The Senate Committee on Transport and Communications examined the current state of local services provided by CBC/Radio-Canada, hearing from over 60 witnesses.

Many CAB members have been lobbying for better collaboration, with both Golden West Broadcasting and Pattison Media recently highlighting that the public broadcaster’s bureau expansion into so-called “underserved” communities has come at the cost of a talent drain on their stations in some of those markets.

“The committee supports CBC/Radio-Canada’s increased presence in local communities and stronger collaboration with private and community media in all regions of the country. However, it is important that this increased presence not come at the expense of local media already established in certain markets,” the report states, noting that concerns about competition for the recruitment of journalists was raised during the hearing process by representatives of the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation and Nunatsiaq News.

The point was also raised by the CAB at the hearing level with President Kevin Desjardins telling the committee that private broadcasters cannot compete with the corporation when hiring journalists in some small and medium-size markets.

“There’s a big concern around that and a desire to see the CBC work better with the broadcasters and media organizations that are already present in these areas,” Desjardins told Broadcast Dialogue on Thursday. “The CBC has explicitly told some CAB members they consider a market to be underserved if they’re not present in it and we don’t necessarily think that’s an ideal way for them to enter into some of these news markets.”

While welcoming the committee’s expectation that CBC/Radio-Canada continue developing partnerships with private and community media, Desjardins was disheartened that there was ultimately no recommendation addressing CBC’s role in the advertising market.

“That is an issue which we think is pretty core to some of the questions around the role of the CBC,” said Desjardins, whose committee testimony suggested the public broadcaster should direct its parliamentary appropriations “towards local news” and less toward variety programming that generates advertising revenue.

Alex Freedman, Executive Director of the Community Radio Fund of Canada (CRFC), which funds non-commercial community and campus radio stations and projects, also supports more collaboration with the CBC. As many colleges scale back their broadcast training, he believes the public broadcaster should invest more in national journalism training programs, another point raised by stakeholders during the committee hearings.

“The Broadcasting Act already recognizes the distinct role of community broadcasters; rather than expanding the CBC’s mandate into these areas, the government should directly empower existing Indigenous and minority-language stations to continue their essential work,” said Freedman. “To truly revitalize local journalism, we should focus on providing equitable support to community outlets, renewing and expanding the Local Journalism Initiative, and prioritizing these voices for government advertising.”

“The CBC is at its best when delivering national, international, and investigative coverage.  It should leave local coverage to local media. By moving from consultation to active, meaningful collaboration, the CBC can support, rather than duplicate, the vital work of community news outlets for the benefit of all Canadians.”

Among the senate committee’s conclusions was that a comprehensive study of CBC/Radio-Canada’s local services can’t be meaningfully undertaken without access to certain disaggregated data –  such as staffing levels, revenues and expenses broken down by local station – which currently the corporation does not disclose.

“It would be useful to have more financial information about the Corporation’s local stations to identify where needs are most urgent,” the report stated. “The committee understands that CBC/Radio-Canada competes with other broadcasters for advertising revenue, the purchase of broadcast rights and ratings. Nevertheless, the committee believes that a balance must be struck between the need to keep certain information confidential for competitive reasons and the need to inform Canadians about the performance of the Corporation’s local stations.”