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CBC president Hubert Lacroix waits to tesstify before a Commons in Ottawa on Feb. 14, 2011.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press

Faced with that uneasy feeling of budget cuts on the horizon, the CBC released a study Wednesday that pegs their gross impact on the Canadian economy last year at $3.7-billion.

The analysis by consultants Deloitte and Touche LLP was commissioned by the public broadcaster in connection with their latest five-year strategic plan.

"[It's to]ensure that when we talk about the broadcaster that we have real facts in hand, and we go beyond the anecdotal evidence or the stories or numbers that have been drawn on the corner of a napkin," CBC president Hubert Lacroix said in a conference call.

"Now we have robust conclusions as to what we also bring to Canadians. ... We believe in the concept of a return on investment.

"Canadians give us on average $34 per head. They should hear from us how we use those dollars and whether there's a return for them and to the Canadian economy. That's why we have that report."

Deloitte said that based on CBC expenditures of $1.7-billion in 2010, the gross value added to the Canadian economy was $3.7-billion.

The firm also estimated a "net" impact on the economy, by comparing what the cultural industry would be like without a federally funded CBC compared with the status quo. Using that imagined scenario, the CBC's net impact on the economy in 2010 was $1.3-billion, Deloitte said.

The analysis says CBC's investment in independent productions had helped that industry grow. And it points to the stability the CBC brings to the sector, which in turn encourages production companies to make new investments and exploit export markets.

Clusters of creative businesses, especially in Montreal, have sprung up around the CBC's operations creating further spill-over into the economy, the study said.

And the consultants found the CBC has actually helped its competitors in the private sector by leading the way in developing new technologies and promoting digital content.

"Through its activity in the technology space, CBC/Radio-Canada can act as a test bed, reducing uncertainty about the technologies and demonstrating their value," the study said.

"CBC/Radio-Canada's role could therefore lead others in the industry to implement the technologies earlier than they would have done otherwise."

The CBC recently escaped the Conservative government's budget chopping block, its $1.1-billion federal subsidy and an extra $60-million for programming both kept intact.

But disdain for the CBC remains palpable within the party's ranks. Immigration Minister Jason Kenney took a shot at the CBC in an opening speech to the Conservative convention last week, suggesting they had a Toronto-centric, urban view of the country.

In Britain, Conservative Prime Minister David Cameron's coalition government helped bring in a seven-year freeze on the BBC's license fees, spurring a massive round of programming and job cuts. Mr. Cameron has openly criticized that public broadcaster's news coverage.

Mr. Lacroix said the British situation was completely different, with the BBC engaged in commercial activities and with a budget five-times that of the CBC.

The CBC president would not disclose how much the public broadcaster paid Deloitte and Touche LLP for the study, saying it was a private commercial transaction.

The CBC has been criticized by the Conservative government for its record on access to information, and the two are fighting in the courts over what kind of data the broadcaster should be obliged to release.

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