CPAC distribution in French and English comes under scrutiny following complaints

The CRTC is examining whether carriage of the Cable Public Affairs (CPAC) should be mandated in both official languages, following public complaints before a parliamentary committee and at recent commission hearings. The government’s Joint Committee on Official Languages received six complaints from anglophones and francophones in Ottawa-Hull and various regions of New Brunswick and Quebec over the inability to receive the debates and proceedings of the House of Commons in French. Similar complaints were made when the CRTC conducted cross-Canada consultations and a public hearing on the distribution of French-language specialty channels across Canada – PN 2001-46 (CCR, Oct. 26/00). One issue in this review will be the shortage of analog channel capacity. As such, the commission is asking if it’s sufficient to carry one video feed of CPAC with two separate audio programming (SAP) channels – one for French and one for English. If not, cablecos and satellite TV companies would have to find another analog channel for a second CPAC, which would mean less channel space for new digital TV channels. The issue is political as much as it is technological. The examination of CPAC’s delivery comes as the channel run by cablecos is in the midst of negotiating an agreement with the Board of Internal Economy of the House of Commons to distribute the proceedings. This month the joint committee issued a report calling on the CRTC to force cablecos to broadcast Parliamentary debates in both official languages. It also recommended that the installation of infrastructure permitting cablecos to adopt SAP technology be made an integral part of the agreement currently being negotiated with the House of Commons, and that both the CRTC and CPAC make SAP technology better known to cable subscribers. The committee also suggests that the Board of Internal Economy sign an interim agreement with CPAC that would last only until August 2002, when the channel’s licence comes up for renewal. It also wants Parliament to produce subtitling in French for Question Period in the House of Commons without delay. Using a second audio channel rather than a dedicated video channel is supported by CPAC, which is owned by the cable industry. CPAC general manager Colette Watson told the joint committee on April 3 that SAP technology would allow viewers with the proper television sets to choose either audio signal. According to CPAC, 37 per cent of cable subscribers across the country can currently use SAP technology and 8 per cent already receive both feeds through their cablecos. Watson indicated that within a year, nearly 80 per cent of subscribers receiving CPAC would be able to use SAP technology. CPAC, she said, would undertake to bring SAP to a larger number of cablecos by making it available at more head-ends. The CRTC urged cable operators to do just that in a Feb. 12 report, Achieving a Better Balance: Report on French-language Broadcasting Services in a Minority Environment. The regulator said distributors should provide CPAC in the majority language and offer the SAP signal in the minority language, where technologically possible. Positions not finalized A consortium of cable channels took over televised coverage of the debates of the House of Commons from the CBC in 1992. CPAC reached an interim agreement back then with the House of Commons, and later inked a formal seven-year agreement that expires Aug. 31, 2001. CPAC spokesperson Susan Kay says it’s premature to discuss the issue until their position is fully developed and filed with the CRTC. Bill Allen, communications director at the Canadian Cable Television Association (CCTA), says his organization has also not finalized its position. The deadline for comments is May 28.

CPAC distribution in French and English comes under scrutiny following complaints

News | 05/10/2001 4:00 am EDT

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