Oh its function is to create well paid sinecures for incompetent politically connected bureaucrats. Better to have them there than regulating industries that actually benefit Canada.
Just another day in the life of a country who has clearly lost its way. By having it's policies driven by special interest groups, bureaucrats driven by idealism not reality and a citizenry reacting like a deer in the headlights as they get bombarded daily by more news that our country is failing in so many ways.
Recession (technical only of course), high unemployment especially with our youth, CBC & CRTC never failing to surprise with their actions and an endless reporting of business failures & bankruptcies. Yes I could go on & on & on but you get the picture.
Sorry to drag a separatism comment into this topic but why would anyone want to be part of this ongoing soap opera of failure after failure.
There's a fundamental incoherence in construing 'culture' in terms of products consumed, and in thinking that mandating some arbitrary percentage of such consumption be 'Canadian'—according to some strange amalgam of criteria (funding? investment? subject matter?)—could ever qualify as 'cultural flourishing,' or evidence of it. Whatever else culture is, it's organic, woven into the fabric of daily life in a society. If there's anything unique about Canadian voices it can only arise from Canadians' interactions with each other; and whether these interactions are entertaining or worth 'celebrating' are separate questions.
The only legitimate way to ensure fifteen percent of Netflix or Spotify offerings are Canadian is for Canadians to produce products so compelling that people want to consume them. Nobody watches Bergman films because they're Swedish, or reads Houellebecq novels because they're French: demand exists for those products because of their quality. There's nothing preventing Canadians from aspiring to produce quality products; make films and write books that not just Canadians but people in America, Sweden and France can't wait to view and read, and major companies will compete to distribute them. That would be an achievement worth celebrating, even if tells us nothing about the supposed uniqueness or robustness of our culture. What it does tell us is that at least some Canadians (Atwood, Lightfoot, Young, Mitchell) are gifted and know what they're doing, which is encouraging. Our political leadership is less so.
I have the feeling that the CBC's production model is the opposite of what you suggest. Rather than good ideas competing for funding, they have funding competing for ideas.
A significant number of Canadian voters appear to embrace government as the source of "Canadian Culture" with the CBC and the CRTC as the guardians and dispensers of that culture. This support of the CBC and CRTC makes no sense given that both the CBC and CRTC serve up original American content and reheated American content in order to attract Canadian audiences. But then tribal members are not expected to be bright or insightful; loyalty is enough.
Look at all the great music and movies coming out of the former USSR and the PRC after its cultural revolution. Kanadastan is aspiring to the same level. Give it a chance.
It is remarkable to me that Carney et al continue to shovel Canadian bullshit over the 49th parallel back fence…yet when our government finds ways to gouge the Americans, that’s okay. The ‘much beloved’ Carney will surely take us white water rafting through the Canadian sewer system if he doesn’t get out of his ideologue period and into real politics…soon!
I lived in Windsor Ontario from age 8 to 21...... Canadian content there consisted of the CBC TV news at night on the American owned CKLW TV.... the rest of its broadcast day was American.I wonder where in Canada was different other than the Toronto area? Canada did have a burst of creativity especially in books published - all gone now - TV was pretty bad and there were no Canadian movies.... some Canadian music (rock mostly)....Seems to me that we either want to watch, read, hear our own or we don't and the government cannot change that except to fund stuff on the CBC that you'd have to be a masochist to enjoy.
Non-CanCon television and movie production in Canada is worth 4-5x the amount spent on certified CanCon productions. The money and talent are available to tell Canadian stories in Canada without CanCon support: the problem is that much of the CanCon-supported production is not sufficiently compelling to win industry funding on its own merits. At least part of that issue has to be the way that CanCon enables politically-motivated funding choices: who you know is even more important than in the usual entertainment business.
What is “Canadian culture?” I feel like if it was a legitimate and highly prized thing it wouldn’t require massive infusions of cash from American companies and Canadian taxpayers. Why can’t Canadian businesses do this on their own, bringing talent and art to the public? It seems we aren’t talking about culture, but rather “content” which isn’t necessarily the same thing.
American movie and film production companies also shop around for subsidies and tax credits at the US state and local level, (‘Make your movie in Tennessee!’) but it seems Canada is on a whole other level. Obviously I don’t understand the fine points of this issue, but from the outside it strikes me as weird.
Having said that, some of the best TV I’ve ever seen was/is Canadian, e.g. Slings and Arrows was brilliant. More of that please.
“Now I’m an angry Alberta separatist! I know! Mark Carney said I’m bluffing!” Why doesn’t he just dare us,in public? No wait,his answer is tax,tax,tax…
I honest-to-god think the CRTC should be replaced with a toaster or a blender - something useful. They sound like relics.
While not denying that some Canadian content is magnificent much is self indulgent crap with no merit either artistic, commercial or cultural.
What qualifies as 'magnificent'?
I don’t know about “magnificent”, but I remember enjoying Corner Gas. That was quite a while ago, though.
I, once again, suggest the CRTC be disbanded as it serves no functional purpose, and does nothing to benefit Canadian anything.
Oh its function is to create well paid sinecures for incompetent politically connected bureaucrats. Better to have them there than regulating industries that actually benefit Canada.
The CRTC has lost sight of the ball, if it has even seen it in the past 15 years.
Far rather would have them fix cell phone provision than continue to fuck around with their version of "culture"!
Looks like the CRTC is following the Canadian model used for the armed forces. Make lots of patriotic noise but rely on the US to bail you out.
Just another day in the life of a country who has clearly lost its way. By having it's policies driven by special interest groups, bureaucrats driven by idealism not reality and a citizenry reacting like a deer in the headlights as they get bombarded daily by more news that our country is failing in so many ways.
Recession (technical only of course), high unemployment especially with our youth, CBC & CRTC never failing to surprise with their actions and an endless reporting of business failures & bankruptcies. Yes I could go on & on & on but you get the picture.
Sorry to drag a separatism comment into this topic but why would anyone want to be part of this ongoing soap opera of failure after failure.
There's a fundamental incoherence in construing 'culture' in terms of products consumed, and in thinking that mandating some arbitrary percentage of such consumption be 'Canadian'—according to some strange amalgam of criteria (funding? investment? subject matter?)—could ever qualify as 'cultural flourishing,' or evidence of it. Whatever else culture is, it's organic, woven into the fabric of daily life in a society. If there's anything unique about Canadian voices it can only arise from Canadians' interactions with each other; and whether these interactions are entertaining or worth 'celebrating' are separate questions.
The only legitimate way to ensure fifteen percent of Netflix or Spotify offerings are Canadian is for Canadians to produce products so compelling that people want to consume them. Nobody watches Bergman films because they're Swedish, or reads Houellebecq novels because they're French: demand exists for those products because of their quality. There's nothing preventing Canadians from aspiring to produce quality products; make films and write books that not just Canadians but people in America, Sweden and France can't wait to view and read, and major companies will compete to distribute them. That would be an achievement worth celebrating, even if tells us nothing about the supposed uniqueness or robustness of our culture. What it does tell us is that at least some Canadians (Atwood, Lightfoot, Young, Mitchell) are gifted and know what they're doing, which is encouraging. Our political leadership is less so.
I have the feeling that the CBC's production model is the opposite of what you suggest. Rather than good ideas competing for funding, they have funding competing for ideas.
A significant number of Canadian voters appear to embrace government as the source of "Canadian Culture" with the CBC and the CRTC as the guardians and dispensers of that culture. This support of the CBC and CRTC makes no sense given that both the CBC and CRTC serve up original American content and reheated American content in order to attract Canadian audiences. But then tribal members are not expected to be bright or insightful; loyalty is enough.
Look at all the great music and movies coming out of the former USSR and the PRC after its cultural revolution. Kanadastan is aspiring to the same level. Give it a chance.
It's the Francophone model in both Quebec and France. The government is the defender of culture so of course it will fund it.
It is remarkable to me that Carney et al continue to shovel Canadian bullshit over the 49th parallel back fence…yet when our government finds ways to gouge the Americans, that’s okay. The ‘much beloved’ Carney will surely take us white water rafting through the Canadian sewer system if he doesn’t get out of his ideologue period and into real politics…soon!
I lived in Windsor Ontario from age 8 to 21...... Canadian content there consisted of the CBC TV news at night on the American owned CKLW TV.... the rest of its broadcast day was American.I wonder where in Canada was different other than the Toronto area? Canada did have a burst of creativity especially in books published - all gone now - TV was pretty bad and there were no Canadian movies.... some Canadian music (rock mostly)....Seems to me that we either want to watch, read, hear our own or we don't and the government cannot change that except to fund stuff on the CBC that you'd have to be a masochist to enjoy.
“No sovereign nation allows its culture to be plundered” because it’s neither sovereign nor not sovereign but some secret third thing
I've pretty much decided that I am getting my Canadian Content if I watch a movie with an actor named Ryan in it.
Non-CanCon television and movie production in Canada is worth 4-5x the amount spent on certified CanCon productions. The money and talent are available to tell Canadian stories in Canada without CanCon support: the problem is that much of the CanCon-supported production is not sufficiently compelling to win industry funding on its own merits. At least part of that issue has to be the way that CanCon enables politically-motivated funding choices: who you know is even more important than in the usual entertainment business.
Check out the Juno Awards highlights. Truly inspiring.
What is “Canadian culture?” I feel like if it was a legitimate and highly prized thing it wouldn’t require massive infusions of cash from American companies and Canadian taxpayers. Why can’t Canadian businesses do this on their own, bringing talent and art to the public? It seems we aren’t talking about culture, but rather “content” which isn’t necessarily the same thing.
American movie and film production companies also shop around for subsidies and tax credits at the US state and local level, (‘Make your movie in Tennessee!’) but it seems Canada is on a whole other level. Obviously I don’t understand the fine points of this issue, but from the outside it strikes me as weird.
Having said that, some of the best TV I’ve ever seen was/is Canadian, e.g. Slings and Arrows was brilliant. More of that please.
“Now I’m an angry Alberta separatist! I know! Mark Carney said I’m bluffing!” Why doesn’t he just dare us,in public? No wait,his answer is tax,tax,tax…
“I’m an angry Quebec separatist! I know! They tell me eight times!!”