CRTC directs CBC to hold Indigenous consultation by March

The CRTC denied an application by CBC/Radio-Canada to delay consultations with Indigenous peoples and further directed the CBC to hold the consultations by the end of March and submit a report by the end of June. Under the conditions of the CBC’s license, issued in 2022, the CBC is required to hold a consultation with Indigenous peoples at least once every two years, beginning in the 2022-2023 broadcast year. The CBC asked to put off the consultation until the 2023-2024 broadcast year. In a Part 1 application filed with the regulator in February the broadcaster argued that it should complete its National Indigenous Strategy before launching a new set of consultations with Indigenous peoples and would avoid the overlap with other consultations and the “consultation fatigue that is being experienced by Indigenous peoples.” The commission asked the CBC to put Indigenous voices on the record to support its claims of consultation fatigue by directing the CBC to serve its application to Indigenous groups and invite commentary. The interventions in support of the CBC’s request agreed that it would be more appropriate to wait until its National Indigenous Strategy is complete as it would foster more meaningful consultations. “The support received has been mainly expressed by organizations or individuals who play a role in the CBC’s consultations with Indigenous peoples for its National Indigenous Strategy rather than by participants or potential participants in such consultations,” the CRTC wrote in its Wednesday decision. According to the regulator, the CBC should have also invited other groups representing Indigenous peoples to comment. It added that the consultations will give the public broadcaster a chance to establish relationships with Indigenous peoples and help it meet the CRTC’s audiovisual Indigenous programming expenditure requirements and Indigenous musical selection requirements. “Implementing feedback from Indigenous communities would allow the CBC to make meaningful adjustments to ensure that the programming tailored towards Indigenous Peoples is relevant for them, and that its internal processes are more inclusive,” the commission wrote. The deadline for the CBC’s consultations was at the end of last month. However, because the CBC filed its application in February, it “put itself in a position where it was highly unlikely that it would have been able to comply with these obligations should the amendment sought be denied,” according to the CRTC. The commission noted the CBC should have filed its request sooner, and gave the broadcaster until March 31st to get the job done. – Reporting by Jenna Cocullo at jcocullo@thewirereport.ca and editing by Paul Park at ppark@thewirereport.ca

CRTC directs CBC to hold Indigenous consultation by March

News | September 20, 2023

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CRTC directs CBC to hold Indigenous consultation by March

News | September 20, 2023

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