(From L to R): Monika Ille, CEO of APTN, Julie Grenier, Chair of APTN’s Board of Directors, Michael Goldbloom, Chair of the CBC/Radio-Canada Board of Directors, and Catherine Tait, President and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada, at the signing of the first-ever memorandum of understanding between the two organizations during a ceremony in Montreal on March 3, 2022.
A landmark agreement that will allow for more collaboration was signed between APTN and CBC/Radio-Canada today in Montreal.
“We are delighted to begin this new collaborative partnership with CBC/Radio-Canada, which will help further the voices of Indigenous Peoples through authentic news coverage and unique Indigenous-produced content,” said APTN CEO Monika Ille.
The goal of the agreement is to enhance both networks’ abilities to create Indigenous programming as well as its promotion.
According to a joint news release, the agreement emphasizes that “to be considered an Indigenous production, the production company and copyright should be majority-owned by Indigenous persons, and should include Indigenous persons in key creative positions sufficient to ensure that the production reflects Indigenous perspectives.”
There is also “a commitment to recruiting, retaining and advancing Indigenous employees as well as supporting Indigenous producers”.
“CBC/Radio-Canada has an important role to play in reconciliation. We are proud to partner with APTN to deepen our commitment to First Nations, Inuit and Métis journalists and creators,” said CBC/Radio-Canada CEO and president Catherine Tait.
The collaboration will also apply to their respective news divisions, although both APTN News and CBC/Radio-Canada will retain editorial control of their own content.
“With everything that’s been happening recently in Canada, with the recovery of the unmarked graves, of the children, people are more…sensitized, more aware of what’s going on,” said Ille at the signing. “They want to know the real stories and the real stories of Indigenous people are told by Indigenous peoples,”
“Thanks to your expertise at APTN, we have so much to learn and gain and so we look forward very much to working with you,” added Tait.
