Pierre Juneau

Pierre Juneau, administrator, broadcasting executive (born at Verdun, Qué 17 Oct 1922; died at Montréal, 21 Feb 2012). After a distinguished administrative career at the NFB 1949-66, Juneau was appointed vice-chairman of the Board of Broadcast Governors 1966-68 and was chairman of the CANADIAN RADIO-TELEVISION AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION 1968-75. His assertive application of commission regulations governing Canadian content in broadcasting won him a reputation as a cultural nationalist (the Canadian recording industry's Juno Awards were named partly in his honour) that was only marginally dimmed by the commission's failure to devise effective controls for cable transmissions.

In 1975 he was named minister of communications, but he resigned after failing to win election to Parliament. From 1975 to 1982 he held several senior administrative posts at Ottawa, and in 1982 he became president of the CBC, agreeing to serve until 1989. Faced with sharply reduced government funding, nationalists feared an increase in foreign programming, but with Juneau's mandate to make the CBC 95% Canadian and the 1987 licence for an all-news channel, they declared Juneau's presidency a victory for Canadian sovereignty.

Juneau was temporarily lured out of retirement in 1994 to oversee the operations of MacLean-Hunter during CRTC hearings to approve a takeover of MacLean-Hunter by Rogers Cable. Juneau is a member of the Royal Society of Canada and an Officer in the Order of Canada.

Author STANLEY GORDON

Links to Other Sites
JUNO Awards
The website for the JUNO Awards and the Canadian Music Hall of Fame. Scroll down the page to check out the latest award winners and music clips. Sample the latest JUNO Awards CD. From the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences.

The History of Canadian Broadcasting
This site is dedicated to the visionary pioneers who created Canada’s broadcasting industry. Features profiles of members of the CAB Hall of Fame and much more. From the Canadian Communications Foundation.

Pierre Juneau
Listen to a 1970 CBC audio clip of Pierre Juneau talking about the issue of Canadian content in television and radio programming. From the CBC Digital Archives feature "Ruling the Airwaves: The CRTC and Canadian Content."

Pierre Juneau, former CRTC and CBC chief, dies
A CBC News obituary for Pierre Juneau, first chair of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission and a former head of the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.