Canadian Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault suggested news media in Canada should be regulated, requiring news outlets in Canada to be licenced.
“If you’re a distributor of content in Canada and obviously if you’re a very small media organization the requirement probably wouldn’t be the same if you’re Facebook, or Google. There would have to be some proportionality embedded into this,” Guilbeault told Evan Solomon an interview on CTV’s Question Period.
“We would ask that they have a licence, yes,” Guilbeault continued.
Attempting to curtail freedom of speech and access to information under the veil of “regulation and licensing” is undemocratic and offends Canadian constitutional values. This is lipstick on the pig of censorship. #cdnpoli #cdnmedia https://twitter.com/punditclass/status/1224044099570819073 …
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"We would ask that they have a license. Yes." #cdnpoli
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This past week a panel of broadcast experts tabled a list of 97 proposals—a report called the “Canada’s Communications Future: Time To Act”—to the Trudeau government that included the recommendation that the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) or another regulatory body control licencing of all companies creating “audio, audiovisual, and alphanumeric news content”.
The Trudeau government has already picked favourites in the Canadian news sector by offering a $600 million bailout to the industry, which allowed eight special interest groups tied to the legacy media to decided which companies would be eligible for the taxpayer money.
“No, a free democracy does not require the press to obtain a government licence,” said Globe and Mail columnist Andrew Coyne in response to Sunday’s news.
All you needed to say was “no,” minister. No, a free democracy does not require the press to obtain a government licence...
Licensing for media companies in Canada would likely be proportionate: Heritage minister https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/licensing-for-media-companies-in-canada-would-likely-be-proportionate-heritage-minister-1.4792838 …
Licensing for media companies in Canada would likely be proportionate: Heritage minister
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Guilbeault also told CTV’s Solomon that the government was taking their time deliberating what 97 recommendations to adopt and hasn’t committed to anything yet.
À quoi ressemble votre bol idéal?
The Trudeau government also appears to be set to force streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime to pay tax and create and stream a set quota of Canadian content.
“As far as the GST or PST, depending where you are in the country, is concerned, it’s about fairness. Companies aren’t paying PST or GST in Canada, and there’s no reason that the wealthiest companies in the world who are operating on Canadian soil shouldn’t pay for it,” said Guilbeault in the CTV interview. “
And as for asking them to do their fair share to contribute to Canadian cultural content, I mean you were talking about Netflix. Well last year Netflix spent around a billion dollars in Canada. And what we would be asking them to do, what the panel is recommending and what we have said as a government many times before, is that they take part of that money and invest it in the development of and the distribution of Canadian cultural content.”
The list of 97 proposals also includes having the CBC—notoriously known for not crediting other journalists’ work and for pushing Trudeau government propaganda—monitor and police other news outlets’ content.
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TAGS #CANADA #CANADIAN HERITAGE #CRTC #NETFLIX #STEVEN GUILBEAULT #TRUDEAU GOVERNMENT
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Trudeau Government Told To Force Netflix To Make And Play More Canadian Shows: Report
2020-01-30 14:05:26
A new report on telecommunications has suggested that the government should force streaming services, like Netflix and Amazon Prime, to make and play more Canadian content.
As well as this, the report, “Canada’s communications future: Time to act“, also recommended an ad-free CBC, which would make the CBC even more dependant on Canadian taxpayer money.
The report in question was commissioned by the federal government and revealed on Wednesday. The report was written by a seven-person panel who had the mission of suggesting reforms to the Canadian telecommunications industry.
The panel was also tasked with recommending reforms to Canadian telecommunications, including the CBC, so that it could survive in the modern age of streaming.
When the report was finished it recommended, among other things, to create universal broadband in Canada. It also recommended forcing “media curators” to create Canadian content.
Not all Canadians were happy with these recommendations. Journalist J.J. McCullough, for instance, said, “The government is upset you’re not watching enough of their tax-funded ‘Canadian content,’ so they’re talking about forcing it to be displayed more prominently on Netflix.”
“If that fails, maybe they can just use that contraption from Clockwork Orange,” added McCullough.
The report also suggested streaming services such as Amazon and Netflix be forced by the federal government to pay into the Canada Media Fund, which would likely be a de facto tax on Canadian consumers as the added cost to the streaming services would likely be passed on to the price of the subscriptions.
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Seven All-Time Funny Canadian Comedians
2020-01-30 11:29:54
It’s the day after Bell Let’s Talk; the best medicine to deal with the winter blues is to have a good laugh.
Canada is home to some of the funniest humans on the planet. Our sense of humour is unique to our home and native land for its particular brand of self-deprecating, likeable dry wit. It seems to me that Canadians grow up watching classic American stand-ups and then filter that through our storyteller style of humour.
Canadian comedians are often forced to adventure to the United States or the UK in order to make a living, but it’s hard to hold it against them, especially when they retain the hoser twinkle in their eye. The Post Millennial takes a look at seven of the funniest Canadians to ever take the stage.
- Norm MacDonald, born in Quebec City and perhaps best known as the anchor on SNL’s “Weekend Update”, he is often referred to as a comedian’s comedian. That may be true, but he’s the funniest guy around in many a fella’s books. We’ll let his stand-up attest to that. In clip here from Late Night, Letterman cordially asked MacDonald to give the final stand-up performance on his show.
2. Jim Carrey, born in New Market, Ontario, is the man who is now universally known for his outstanding comedic performances in movies such as Dumb and Dumber, Ace Ventura, and Me, Myself and Irene. His glowing sketches on the hit 90s show In Living Colour. But did you know that Carrey got his start as a stand up?
3. John Candy was born in New Market as well Candy met a tragic early death in 1994 at the age of 43. In such a short span of time Candy he managed to be a major player on the sketch show SCTV, had a string of blockbuster comedies including, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Uncle Buck, Stripes, Canadian Bacon and Spaceballs just to name a few. It seemed every great in the business wanted to work with Candy–and it’s easy to see why. Not only was he a performer with instant likability but he had a kindness to his demeanour that to this day remains unmatched in Canadian comedy. A candid home interview shows that side of Candy here.
4. Martin Short was born in Hamilton, Ontario. This funny man was on the cast of the infamous SCTV too. Martin Short is best known for his explosive performances and his original characters like Jiminy Glick. He is now 69 years of age and still tours extensively alongside his longtime comedy companion Steve Martin. A recent guest appearance on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon shows that after all these years, he’s still got it.
5. Leslie Nielsen, born in Regina, Saskatchewan, Nielsen got his start as a dramatic actor in film and television in the 50s through to the 70s before making the leap over to comedy in the 1980s. He seemed to bring that classic dramatic deadpan style to the comedic stage with hit film series such as Airplane and the The Naked Gun trilogy. He was even introduced to a new generation of comedy lovers with his appearances in the Wayne brothers’ Scary Movie series. Here is a classic clip of Nielsen’s dry wit at work.
6. Cathy Jones was born in St. John’s, Newfoundland. She is one of the original cast members of Canada’s longest running comedy show ever, This Hour Has 22 Minutes. She is also the only cast member to be present for every single season since its initial airing back in 1992. What makes Jones so special is the versatility of her characters. She can play young, old, man or woman, with ease. Here is her demo reel to showcase just how dynamic of a performer she continues to be.
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7. Mike Myers was born in Scarborough, Ontario. This guy has many feats to boast about from his time on City Limits, Second City and SNL. City Limits is actually where a young Myers first began crafting the infamous Wayne of Wayne’s World. SNL is where he honed is and on the silver screen he perfected it. Austin Powers was box office and gold and Myers showcased his dramatic skills with such films as Studio 54 and a sublime cameo in Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds. Let’s take a look at another one of Myer’s many characters in this 1993 SNL sketch.
