MONTREAL, Feb. 20, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - TV5 Québec Canada is proud to announce that, to date, it has rallied over 2,000 supporters for the proposed modification of its condition of license. The modification would allow it to operate two channels under a single license: TV5, dedicated to international French-language content, and UNIS, dedicated to Canadian French-language content. And the list of supporters will continue to grow, since the CRTC has extended the deadline for supporting the initiative to February 27. TV5 sincerely thanks all those who have intervened on its behalf, and invites those who have not yet had the chance to do so, to log on to www.NouveauTV5.ca or the CRTC website.
This impressive number of supporters confirms the high level of interest in our project among the general public, the independent production community, educators and the French-speaking community. This interest had already been apparent in the results of the pan-Canadian survey and the consultations with control groups of francophone television viewers from outside Quebec, which were attached to our application. And it kept building during the dozens of meetings with francophone and francophile groups across Canada led by Suzanne Gouin, President and General Manager of TV5 Québec Canada. Here are a few of the testimonials we have received:
Pierre Rivard, General Manager of the Centre culturel francophone de Vancouver: "For the last few years, TV5 Québec Canada has partnered with the Centre culturel francophone de Vancouver for its major cultural events. (...) For example, TV5 Québec Canada is the only television channel to ever pick up an entire concert at the Festival d'été francophone de Vancouver [francophone summer festival], which featured emerging B.C. artists among others, and to broadcast it across Canada and around the world."
Jean Guénette from the Gaspa production company: "Gaspa is the only production company in Gaspésie. (...) Acceptance of TV5's application by the CRTC will have an extremely positive impact on our company. To secure the future of francophone production in Canada, it is imperative that we have access to broadcasters and partners like TV5, which are committed to reflecting the culture and diversity of this country's many francophone communities, and not just the large urban centres."
Yolande Grisé, Professor at the University of Ottawa and Simon Fraser University: "Whether it is responding to the needs of young children, gradeschoolers, students, parents, teachers, seniors, the employed or unemployed, etc., Nouveau TV5 represents an evolution for francophone communities in a minority situation (...) As the former president of the Ontario Arts Council, I cannot stress enough how much prominence Nouveau TV5 plans to give French-speaking Canadian creators."
Daniel Gautreau, from Cine Atlantik, a production company based in Tracadie-Sheila: "TV5 is an essential partner in northern New Brunswick (...) We are thrilled with what TV5 Québec Canada is proposing today because it meets [our] expectations. TV5 already has years of solid broadcasting experience, having worked with a large number of francophone production companies across the country (...)."
Michel Barsalou, Executive Vice-President of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce: "I view Nouveau TV5 as a promising initiative that will create innovative job opportunities and unite Canada's francophones and francophiles. I encourage all the members of my organization to support this project."
Michel Laliberté, President of Tout écran, a production company based in Quebec City: "Editorial regionalization is one of the greatest benefits of the Nouveau TV5 initiative. The three proposed regional offices outside Quebec show this project's depth of intent. (...) We live in a time when viewers are their own broadcasters, with social media networks like Facebook and Twitter. The Nouveau TV5 project could actually channel all this density and diversity of expression from sources across Canada. Let's face it, up to this point, conventional and specialized broadcasters have had a tendency to curbe (or downplay) less metropolitan content."
Éric Lefol, Director of the Fédération des Francophones de Saskatoon: "Nouveau TV5 will be a powerful tool enabling francophone communities in every region of the country to stake their claim and have their voice heard. This will foster exchange and the sharing of experiences among these communities, while opening a window for them onto the international French-speaking scene. This is a tool we urgently need."
Marc Beaudet, President of Turbulent Media Inc.: "Canada's digital content providers have found TV5 to be a rigorous and innovative partner. TV5 contracts help strengthen the development of key transmedia expertise in Canada. The growth of TV5 is good news for the independent digital transmedia production industry."
Finally, we would like to mention the support of the national, 24,000-member strong, Canadian Parents for French, and its provincial associations. General Manager Robert Rothon wrote in his response to the CRTC: "Nouveau TV5 will be a fantastic linguistic and cultural resource for the many francophiles across Canada. It is a tool that young Canadians urgently need."
Add your voice to theirs and express your support before February 27, 2013 by logging on to www.NouveauTV5.ca. Thank you for your support!
SOURCE: TV5
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