From a media release:
A new series of television interview programs focusing on outstanding Canadians will launch on several Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) stations in the United States, beginning in February. The series, entitled CANADA FILES, will be hosted by veteran Toronto broadcaster James Deeks, and produced by his Toronto-based production company.
Initially accepted for broadcast by WNED-TV, the Buffalo, NY, affiliate of PBS, CANADA FILES is currently in production. Confirmed guests include Booker Prize-winning novelist Margaret Atwood, former CBC National News anchor Peter Mansbridge, Vancouver business tycoon Jim Pattison, rock legend Robbie Robertson, and several others.
One of the underlying purposes of CANADA FILES is to make American audiences aware and appreciative of the Canadian heritage of so many of the guests they would recognize. Â As well, to provide a better understanding of the role that so many Canadians play on the North American stage.
The initial series will consist of 13 half-hour episodes, featuring one-on-one discussions between Deeks and his guests. Production of the series has been underwritten by private Canadian donors, and by the Central Canadian Public Television Association (CCPTA), a registered Canadian charitable organization. CCPTA’s mission is to advance education through the production, distribution, and promotion of non-commercial television programs, films and other communications that are educational in nature.
A former television journalist and news anchor at CTV Toronto, Jim Deeks most recently co-hosted a program on RogersTV Toronto called Toronto Files. He’s also well-known to WNED viewers as one of its regular, on-air Pledge Drive fundraisers.
CANADA FILES will be aired on WNED on Sunday evenings at 6:00 pm, starting on February 9th. Other PBS affiliates will determine their own broadcast times for the series. The programs will also be streamed online on www.canadafiles.ca.