Television and the House of Commons : Télévision à la chambre des communes

THE DEVELOPMENT OF TELEVISION AND RADIO BROADCASTING The general question of radio and television broadcasting of the Canadian House of Commons was referred to the Standing Committee on Procedure and Organization in 1970, following debates in the House in 1967 and 1969. [...] These sentiments were echoed by James Jerome, the Speaker of the House at the time of the introduction of broadcasting; he told the staff of the United States House of Representatives Rules Committee on 29 January 1978, shortly after the introduction of television, that he did not think that it had changed the House substantially. [...] It should be noted that the Committee anticipated that the programming director and producers would report to the Speaker, and be subject to the overall direction and supervision of a committee of the House of Commons (and, through it, to the whole House). [...] The Standing Orders of the House were also amended to provide that the House Management Committee would be responsible for the ongoing monitoring of the broadcasting of the proceedings of the House and its committees. [...] B. The Cable Parliamentary Channel (CPAC) On 29 November 1990, the President of the CBC, Gérard Veilleux, told the Standing Committee on Privileges and Elections that, due to budgetary constraints, he would be recommending to the Corporation’s Board of Directors that the CBC discontinue funding the distribution of the parliamentary channel as of 1 April 1991, the start of the new fiscal year.