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MONTREAL -- The new CBC/Radio-Canada president has asked the federal government to give the public broadcaster a $215-million boost and commit to a seven-year funding plan.
In his first public speech since being appointed CBC president in January, Hubert Lacroix asked the government to fork over $40 more per Canadian in annual funding -- the broadcaster currently receives $33 per Canadian.
Lacroix also asked for an exact dollar figure on how much the government will contribute to the CBC over the next seven years.
"With 12-month cycles, it's very hard for us to plan our resources and needs intelligently," he said during his speech at an Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television conference lunch held in Montreal on Thursday.
Lacroix said the multi-year agreement would help better define the mutual duties of the public corporation and government.
"A seven-year agreement would allow us to anchor our strategic planning more firmly, and thus have a very good idea of the fields of intervention. We would then know where we want to act and be able to implement clearly identified accountability measures," he said.
This stable financing -- which would also be indexed to the cost of living -- is based on the recommendations of a Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage report issued Feb. 28. The report also recommended that financing per capita be increased from $33 to $40.
During his speech, Lacroix admitted that the public corporation was dependent on ratings -- a fact traditionally denied by the organization.
"We are currently condemned to rely on advertising revenue to balance out our budgets. Consequently, we have no choice but to keep a close eye on ratings," he said. "Pretending otherwise would not accurately reflect our daily reality."
In an "ideal world," Lacroix said the CBC could free itself from its dependency on advertisers. The current setup, however, does not allow for that, he said.
"We need advertising revenue," he stressed.
Lacroix also told the audience how much the CBC relies on independent production, admitting that partnerships must now be better defined since work distribution platforms are multiplying.
"We must be able to acquire and apply ownership rights on the contents aired more vastly than before, therefore ensuring an ongoing presence on all 21st century platforms," he said.
"The current challenge is to figure out: 'Who keeps what? How much does it cost? What do I sell you in terms of rights? If I own them and you worked on production, but you don't get anything in return on these rights, then we have a fair partnership,'" he said.
Lacroix said he also aims to improve relations with the union. Under the management of his predecessor, Robert Rabinovitch, Radio-Canada had to deal with three lock-outs and one strike.