Broadcasting Act — B-9.01 3
arly where provided through the facilities of an independent educational authority, is an integral part of the Canadian broadcasting system; (k) a range of broadcasting services in English and in French shall be extended to all Canadians; (l) the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, as the national public broadcaster, should provide broadcasting services incorporating a wide range of programming that informs, enlightens and entertains; (m) the programming provided by the Corporation should (i) be predominantly and distinctively Canadian, (ii) reflect Canada and its regions to national and regional audiences, while serving the special needs of those regions, (iii) actively contribute to the flow and exchange of cultural expression, (iv) be in English and in French, reflecting the different needs and circumstances of each official language community, including the specific needs and interests of official language minority communities, (v) strive to be of equivalent quality in English and in French, (vi) contribute to shared national consciousness and identity, (vii) be made available throughout Canada by the most appropriate and efficient means and as resources become available for the purpose, and (viii) reflect the multicultural and multiracial nature of Canada; (n) where any conflict arises between the objectives of the Corporation set out in paragraphs (l) and (m) and the interests of any other broadcasting undertaking of the Canadian broadcasting system, it shall be resolved in the public interest, and where the public interest would be equally served by resolving the conflict in favour of either, it shall be resolved in favour of the objectives set out in paragraphs (l) and (m); (o) programming that reflects the Indigenous cultures of Canada and programming that is in Indigenous languages should be provided — including through broadcasting undertakings that are carried on by Indigenous persons — within community elements, which are positioned to serve smaller and remote communities, and other elements of the Canadian broadcasting system in order to serve Indigenous peoples where they live; (p) programming that is accessible without barriers to persons with disabilities should be provided within the Canadian broadcasting system, including through community broadcasting, as well as the opportunity for them to develop their own content and voices; (p.1) programming that is accessible without barriers to persons with disabilities should be provided within the Canadian broadcasting system, including without limitation, closed captioning services and described video services available to assist persons living with a visual or auditory impairment; (q) online undertakings that provide the programming services of other broadcasting undertakings should (i) ensure the discoverability of Canadian programming services and original Canadian programs, including original French language programs, in an equitable proportion, (ii) when programming services are supplied to them by other broadcasting undertakings under contractual arrangements, provide reasonable terms for the carriage, packaging and retailing of those programming services, and (iii) ensure the delivery of programming at affordable rates; (r) online undertakings shall clearly promote and recommend Canadian programming, in both official languages as well as in Indigenous languages, and ensure that any means of control of the programming generates results allowing its discovery; (s) the programming provided by the community element should (i) be innovative and complementary to the programming provided for mass audiences, (ii) cater to tastes and interests not adequately provided for by the programming provided for mass audiences and include programs devoted to culture, politics, history, health and public safety, local news and current events, local economy and the arts, (iii) reflect Canada’s communities, regions, Indigenous and multicultural nature, including through third-lang