The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Should go the way of the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation

First, some background. In 1969, the federal government passed the Freshwater Fish Marketing Act (FFMA). The FFMC created a federal Crown corporation that acted as the sole buyer of freshwater […]
Published on September 2, 2020

First, some background.

In 1969, the federal government passed the Freshwater Fish Marketing Act (FFMA). The FFMC created a federal Crown corporation that acted as the sole buyer of freshwater fish caught in western Canada, northern Canada, and parts of northern Ontario. The FFMC also acted as a single-desk seller of that fish in international markets.

Slowly, over time, each province or region that was a signatory to the FFMA withdrew from its provisions and the control of the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation it created which became centred in Winnipeg. 

At first Northwestern Ontario withdrew in 2011. That move was followed by Saskatchewan’s own withdrawal from the FFMA in 2012. Then, Alberta withdrew in 2014. Finally, Manitoba – which was one of the most significant parts of the FFMC’s reach – withdrew in 2017. The Northwest Territories is the only remaining jurisdiction active in the corporation, but there is significant complaining about the monopoly from Indigenous and non-Indigenous fishers, as well as territorial politicians.

Years ago, the Frontier Centre for Public Policy made the case for liberating both Indigenous and non-Indigenous fishers from the control of the FFMC. 

Now, at this point readers can wonder what a single desk fish marketing board has to do with a massive broadcasting corporation with reach all over Canada. 

There is much that is similar in terms of original policy rationale compared to reality today. Both the CBC and the FFMC were founded in a period of Canadian history that was very different than today. The FFMA came out of the 1966 Report of the Commission of Inquiry into Freshwater Marketing (the co-called “McIvor Report”). Looking at the economic environment at the time, the McIvor Report concluded fishermen received a low price for their fish largely due to a lack of bargaining power. At the time, the report concluded Canadian fishermen were effectively “indentured servants” to large fishing companies, many based outside Canada. Also, fish processing was spread out across several independent plants. 

But, fast forward to now and fishers are more sophisticated and internet-savvy. They could find better deals and prices for their fish at the click of a mouse. Fishers were no longer overpowered by foreign fish companies. These fishers were itching to make deals on international markets, especially in a growing Asian market. They felt the FFMC was too slow. Fishers had become an independent and entrepreneurial group constrained by the FFMC. 

The CBC was also created out of a government commission of inquiry. In 1929, the Aird Commission recommended the creation of a nationally-owned broadcasting corporation. CBC/Radio-Canada was founded to counter the growing influence of American radio on Canadian broadcast airwaves. At the time, there was also a pressing national imperative to ensure all Canadians had access to vital information. Also, this service provided primarily rural audiences with that information on an equal basis as urban areas in Canada. Finally, the government created an international service bringing Canadian programming to domestic and foreign audiences. 

Fast forward to today and we have a multitude of Canadian programming options for Canadian citizens, including online ones. The internet equalized rural and urban places in terms of access to media sources from Canada, and elsewhere. 

In short, the policy rationale for the existence of the service no longer met the reality of the modern age. Like the FFMC, the market and the demographics had all changed from the 1960s and 1970s.

Now, with the CBC, there is a case for ensuring that underserved communities receive vital information, but does the CBC have to be that provider? Why can’t the federal government use the legislative and policy tools at its disposal to meet these national interests? There are not-for-profit actors that can be incentivized to meet these needs. There is a case for media content that is non-profit and cannot reach audiences in normal market conditions. But there is a place for the government to engage those media entrepreneurs with its other policy levers. 

On a cultural level, one could make a legitimate claim that there is a compelling state interest in ensuring Canadian voices tell Canadian stories on our broadcasting system in order to counter the massive information juggernaut south of the border, but again, why do so many assume only a federal Crown corporation can deliver that? 

Canadians need to think of the CBC the same way we do now with the FFMC.

Joseph Quesnel is a research associate with the Frontier Centre for Public Policy. www.fcpp.org

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