Canadian Ethnocultural Council's Support for the Proposal of LMTV -
Multicultural and Multilingual Television Station Serving the Lower Mainland and Victoria, BC

VANCOUVER, February 23, 2000 -- The Canadian Ethnocultural Council is a coalition of ethnocultural organizations working together for the purpose of furthering understanding of the multicultural reality of Canada. Since its inception in 1980, the CEC has advocated for initiatives to increase equality of accessibility and opportunity for ethno-racial communities to different sectors of Canadian life, including broadcasting and the media.

The CEC is pleased to lend its support to the application submitted by CFMT TV and Rogers Broadcasting Ltd. As mentioned in our letter of support we believe that the programming and services that LMTV proposes to offer are a necessary and vital service to British Columbia residents.

Over the years the CEC has made a number of submissions to the CRTC in support of multicultural reality in broadcasting. Most recently we made presentations in the context of the Commission's ethnic policy review.

The CEC strongly endorses the CRTC's Statement of Industry Principles on Cultural Diversity. Indeed the CEC has and continues to support the expectation that all conventional licensees make specific commitments to more accurately reflect the presence of ethnocultural and racial minorities in the communities that they serve as mandated in the Multiculturalism Act and the Broadcasting Act.

We are also pleased to learn that the Canadian Association of Broadcasters is encouraging broadcasters to adopt Best Practices to comply with this Industry Standard. However, we would like to make one distinction between programming which reflects the multicultural and multiracial nature of Canadian society and ethnic programming which our presentation is primarily addressing.

It is somewhat astonishing that, in Vancouver whose population is now only second to Toronto as the most ethnically and linguistically diverse urban area in the country, this service has not yet been provided and yet it is available free of charge in larger urban centers as Toronto and Montreal.

With a rapid increase in Canada's ethnocultural population in the Lower Mainland and Victoria a significant number of Canadians now speak languages other than English or French. Given this diversity it is the position of the CEC that the CRTC, under the Broadcasting Act and the Ethnic Broadcasting Policy, should encourage the provision of free and accessible third language and ethnic programming that reflect Canadian values.

In earlier submissions to the CRTC, the CEC has gone on record in stating that third language and ethnic programming must be expanded. In fact we support the idea of a national system of multicultural/multilingual TV broadcasting similar to the Australian Special Broadcasting Service, a national multicultural and multilingual TV and Radio station. Such programming, created with Canadian values in mind, is an essential tool for all Canadians to understand the complexities and interrelated nature of the local, national and global communities.

Distinctly Canadian multilingual and multicultural services are crucial for Canada to maintain its identity. This can be achieved most effectively by providing ongoing community support and licensing for multicultural, multilingual professional television stations such as the CFMT and LMTV.

CFMT is a successful broadcaster with twenty years' experience. It was the first over the air multilingual television station and the first to offer professional multicultural and multilingual programming of the highest
quality. LMTV can offer an important local perspective in Vancouver and because of its national link with CFMT it can also provide national perspectives on issues, linking one part of the country to another.

As Broadcasters, CFMT has demonstrated a commitment to serving the diverse communities. This is evident by the relationship with communities in supporting and working with them and forging partnerships based on mutual respect. The establishment of a community advisory board is an indication of that commitment. While others speak of diversity, CFMT practices it on a daily basis; diversity is its raison d'être.

At the local level, LMTV will offer information on activities and important events or programs for and about ethnocultural groups. This has the immediate effect of offering positive portrayal and images which are especially important for children, particularly those in Heritage Language Programs.

In BC, there are over 30,000 children learning heritage languages after school and on weekends. The BC Ministry of Education has a Language Education Policy which allows for the teaching of third language in regular classroom where sufficient numbers warrant. Support of third language or heritage languages is vibrant and spans the generations.

When ethnic programming first emerged in local communities through the local cable channels over twenty years ago, they provided much needed information on local events, festivals, culture and information on immigration. Today local cable programs still offer this but the reasons why communities continue to watch and support these have expanded.

With the advent of the new media and new technology, the target audience for CFMT and LMTV programming is a part of "a new communal identity based on globalization"- or as University of Ottawa professor of Mass Media Karim Karim states, "a hybrid of past alliances, the re-establishment of relationships as well as the experiences of negotiating real life in the new country of settlement and interaction with other individual/groups in that society."

The emergence of satellites as well as the expansion of the Internet and global on-line technologies currently offer and will continue to offer programming which lack Canadian values and content and which may be in point of fact more of a threat to Canadian sovereignty than any split-run magazine.

A Canadian balance must be provided, through the provision of free third language programming with broadcasters such as CFMT and LMTV.

We are pleased that CFMT proposes to support, increase and strengthen the documentary film-making industry in BC. The support of this talent and industry can fill a growing market which is currently being neglected in Canada. For example the Australian publicly funded Special Broadcasting Service has half of its scheduled programming in more than 60 languages and employs 900 full and part time staff. Two thirds of all their programs are purchased from suppliers around the world as well as Australia. Canadian third language documentaries supported by broadcasters such as LMTV can offer similar products and compete in this market. LMTV will be a spring board for individuals seeking to work in the cultural industry especially for ethnocultural independent producers and artists who have little opportunities in the regular media.

In addition to offering programs in different languages the CEC is pleased with the proposal that LMTV will offer programs for youth and women, and it will also focus on multilingual news and information programming. These will deal with social cultural concerns of importance to ethnocultural communities and will provide opportunity for citizen engagement and help build social cohesion. They will help strengthen communities giving them a sense of belonging and unity to a Canadian whole.

Popular Canadian programming versioned into languages other than English or French in the World Entertainment Hour or homeland programming are real options as entertainment factors to an increasing Americanization of the TV industry.

LMTV programs will benefit the local communities in the context of a national framework. It is a manifestation of support for democratic pluralism and citizen engagement. It will inform, educate and offer a voice as well as give a voice to the many ethnocultural communities. And by offering coverage of national issues from an ethnocultural perspective it will fill a gap in media creating a bridge between the western and eastern Canada, perhaps contributing to better understanding of regional concerns, problems and feelings of alienation.

The CEC is very excited about the application. If the license is granted, LMTV will set an industry standard, such as the one that has been developed by CFMT. It will offer new windows of opportunity including new means through which citizens can be engaged in national dialogue and unity.

We have endorsed the concept of multicultural and multilingual language broadcasting as we believe that it is good for Vancouver and the country, economically, culturally and socially. It is a vital part of the continued development of a Canadian identity and a body politic which is committed to a multiculturalism and democratic pluralism.

We see it as a source of strength, a new richness of and for Canadian society which take ethnic communities from ghettoization to globalization, not only by bringing the world to us, but also by sharing our Canadian values to the rest of the world.

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Contact person: Anna Chiappa, Executive Director, (613) 230-3867