From Inside the CBC, quoting a letter from Richard Stursberg in the National Post:

• CBC “forced” into airing Catholic sitcom pilot
  “Unfortunately, because the pilot was financed with public funding, including tax credits and Canadian Television Fund (CTF) monies, we were required to put it on air. … Had we decided to turn the pilot into a series, we would have followed the same process we did when developing Little Mosque on the Prairie and worked with a consultant to ensure religious practices were treated sensitively. And the consultant on Little Mosque was hired only after we determined it was a show we were interested in proceeding with.”

Rima Abdelkader of Arabisto.com reports on the CBC sitcom’s panel presentation at the Museum of Radio and Television:

• Canada’s hit show “Little Mosque on the Prairie” to be broadcast on a tube near you
  “Several questions from the audience focused on when the show would be aired globally. [CBC’s Kirstine] Layfield said that syndication deals are in the works with the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Azerbajian. Canal Plus, she said, will issue Little Mosque on the Prairie in France, Switzerland and in Africa as early as July.”

Janice Tibbetts of CanWest News Service reports on a complaint by the Catholic Civil Rights League about The Altar Boy Gang, which had two pilots aired on CBC but will not become a series:

• Catholic group takes on CBC
  “The Toronto-based Catholic rights group says the CBC is guilty of a ‘double standard’ by lacking sensitivity about the country’s most dominant religion, while it hired a Muslim Canadian consultant last year to ensure that Islamic practices were respected in the program Little Mosque on the Prairie.”

From WestWind Pictures:

Little Mosque on the Prairie Producers Ink First International Distribution Deal With French Broadcasting Giant Canal+

• Show to begin airing July 2007 in France, French-speaking regions in Switzerland and French-speaking African countries

WestWind Pictures, the Toronto-based television production company responsible for the break-out hit Canadian television situation comedy Little Mosque On The Prairie has signed its first international distribution deal for the show with French broadcasting giant Canal+, announced Mary Darling, the show’s executive producer and president of WestWind Pictures.

Canal+ will begin airing Little Mosque On The Prairie’s first season (8 episodes) in July 2007. Canal+ also has an option within the deal for acquiring future seasons of the show. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The show, which will air in France as well as in French-speaking regions in Switzerland and French-speaking countries in Africa, will air in voice-over format. Additionally, Canal+ will make Little Mosque On The Prairie available to viewers (who do not have the pay channel) via un-encrypting the show when it airs.

“Little Mosque On The Prairie’s international success is a testament to the quality of Canadian talent and how it is embraced around the world,” said Kirstine Layfield, executive director, network programming, CBC Television.

Little Mosque On The Prairie averaged one million viewers per episode in its first season and is currently in production on season two.

Canal+ is responsible for bringing such hit American television shows as 24, Desperate Housewives, Will & Grace, Weeds and The Simpsons into the international French-speaking markets.