Tansi Nîtôtemtik,
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s (TRC) Call to Action #84 calls on the government to increase and restore funding to the media to provide a voice for positive change through respectful and meaningful media coverage. Call to Action #84 states:
We call upon the federal government to restore and increase funding to the CBC/Radio-Canada, to enable Canada’s national public broadcaster to support reconciliation, and be properly reflective of the diverse cultures, languages, and perspectives of Aboriginal peoples, including, but not limited to:
i. Increasing Aboriginal programming, including Aboriginal-language speakers.
ii. Increasing equitable access for Aboriginal peoples to jobs, leadership positions, and professional development opportunities within the organization.
iii. Continuing to provide dedicated news coverage and online public information resources on issues of concern to Aboriginal peoples and all Canadians, including the history and legacy of residential schools and the reconciliation process. [1]
CBC/Radio -Canada is a national public broadcaster and one of Canada’s largest cultural institutions. It plays a vital role by providing access to programs and services across the country. CBC Radio purports to be a leader in reaching Canadians on new platforms and delivering a broad range of services that offer diverse regional and cultural perspectives. Considering CBC Radio’s considerable reach across the nation, it is no surprise that the TRC felt it should be included in the Calls to Action.[2]
In Budget 2016, the Government of Canada reinvested $675 million in CBC/Radio Canada over 5 years. This amount was supposed to include initiatives for Indigenous programming and services. To be clear, the amount was not exclusively for Indigenous programming, so the amount allocated for Indigenous media initiatives and services is discretionary. .[3]
In its 2016-2017 Annual Report, CBCRadioCanada reported that the additional funding from Budget 2016 enabled key Indigenous initiatives such as creating additional Indigenous content (including its digital portal Espaces autochtones), and hiring local Indigenous staff in Yellowknife for the digitization of decades of audio programming in 8 Indigenous languages: Dene Suline, Inuktitut, Inuvialuktun, Chipewyan, North Slavey, South Slavey, Gwich'in and Eastern Cree.[4]
To date, CBC is the only broadcaster to offer Indigenous language news and information services across TV, radio and digital platforms in Canada’s North in the 8 languages listed above, reaching over a hundred northern communities.
CBC claims that its commitment is to reflect and represent Canada’s Indigenous communities and to create programming by and for Indigenous Peoples. CBC North broadcasts 211 hours per week with 125 of those hours on indigenous language and has made considerable efforts to digitized content in collaboration with Indigenous people to provide accessible archives.[5] In addition, there are great programs such as “Unreserved”[6] with Rosanna Deerchild which promotes discussion and conversation between Canada’s Indigenous and non-Indigenous people on Radio One, and Lisa Charleyboy’s New Fire[7] podcast focused on stories of Indigenous youth on CBC Radio.
It is a pleasant change to see the money set out for CBC Radio programming being put to good use, even though the money was not specifically allocated for Indigenous programming. We look forward to more initiatives that provide access to Indigenous voices on the radio and other associated media forums.
Closer to home, we have seen a new Indigenous radio station, The Raven CIWE 89.3 launched in Edmonton just this month and will join Edmonton-based CFWE FM and Calgary-based CJWE FM as part of the Windspeaker Radio group. There is no government funding for this station; they have basically started from scratch. But are excited to create spaces and utilize the incredible talent they have in their organization.[8] It would be a stronger act of reconciliation if the government didn’t stop at CBC Radio with funding but also provided funding to Indigenous-based media groups that reflect a grassroots perspective that hit at the heart of Indigenous issues and stories, like The Raven. Yet with the slow pace of government progress on the Calls to Action, we will not hold our breath.
Until Next Time,
Team ReconciliAction YEG
[1] Canada, Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Honouring the Truth and Reconciling for the Future: Summary of the Final Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. Winnipeg: The Commission, 2015 [TRC Report].
[3] Government of Canada, “Media and Reconciliation” (Sep 5, 2019) online: <https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1524505692599/1557513408573.>
[4] Ibid.
[5] CBC, “Indigenous Refection and Representation” (August 2018), online: <https://site-cbc.radio-canada.ca/documents/vision/strategy/submission/appendix-e-cbc-radio-canada-indigenous.pdf>.
[6] CBC, “Unreserved” online:< http://www.cbc.ca/radio/unreserved>.
[7] CBC, “New Fire” online:<http://www.cbc.ca/radio/newfire>
[8] Emily Mertz, “New Indigenous radio station The Raven launches in Edmonton: ‘It was emotional” (1 Feb 2021) online:Globalnews.ca <https://globalnews.ca/news/7613364/indigenous-radio-station-the-raven/> .
