Community radio stations often reach a small percentage of the population. The Commission should take into account the inherent challenges of the situation of community radio stations to promote the introduction of a regulatory framework favouring their success. In a number of provinces, moreover, they represent the only alternative in French to the CBC and the only stations that reflect the concerns of the local community. In this regard, the recent refusal to grant a broadcasting licence to a French-language community radio project in Toronto is very worrisome. Canada's English-speaking majority would thereby have greater access to this aspect of French culture, which is an integral part of the Canadian identity.
Linguistic duality is one of the cornerstones of Canada.
This Canadian reality should be reflected in Canada's broadcasting system. In addition, networks that obtain the status of a national network should, in our opinion, consider the possibility of dividing the network up based on regional realities. This would no doubt make it possible for the regions to break away more often from the national network in order to give more room to special programming making reference to their reality. The new regulations should be a genuine tool to actively foster the vitality of Canada's Francophone and Acadian communities and should accordingly fully take into consideration the objectives of the Official Languages Act and the Broadcasting Act . Francophones outside Quebec are being assimilated for all sorts of reasons.