Brief to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage: Nurturing Media Vitality in Quebec's English-speaking Minority Communities

English-­speaking Quebecers have consistently signalled that access to information in their own language is both a need and a priority. In a world awash with English‑language information through CNN, Time magazine and Hollywood movies galore, this may appear a bit of a contradiction. But the crucial nuance is that English-­speaking Quebecers need a full flow of information in their own language about their own local and regional communities. This is becoming increasingly more difficult to achieve and maintain on a consistent basis because of two elements: the francization of daily life in Quebec; and the decline and in many cases the demise of traditional community media.