CRTC treats Canadians like children

CRTC stands for the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission.  I think it really stands for Censors Run Telecommunications in Canada.  Now, according to the Globe and Mail, they are trying to tax us so that more Canadian content can be developed on the Internet.  The idea of supporting Canadian content is fine with me IF I make the decision I like it-not some bureaucrat stuffing it down my throat.

There are lots of reasons for the public to hate the CRTC and I'm sure the media have many more that we don't know about.

• we pay a fortune for cell plans in Canada because they won't let U.S. carriers compete
• we can't get channels like ESPN and HBO here-we are forced to watch Canadian versions
• radio stations must play a certain number of songs every hour that have Canadian content. 
  
• they sold Do Not Call Lists to telemarketers
• they defend our pure Canadian morals by keeping out shock jocks like Tom Leykis and Howard Stern-probably not all that bad a thing with these examples,  but at least let us choose who we want to listen to-don't tell us who we can't.
  

I'm reminded what narrow-minded jerks make decisions in this example of Canadian nationalism on steroids every time I watch the Super Bowl.  What they do is even though my cable station is on an American channel, they make the Canadian cable companies override it by showing a Canadian station that is taking the feed off the American station I want to watch.  Why does that matter you ask?  2 reasons:

1. Not only is the logo of the American station embedded on the picture, but so is the logo of the Canadian station-actually I hate this to start with so when I am forced to watch the Canadian station, I hate it doubly.
2. We don't get to watch the American commercials which is 1/2 the reason people watch the Super Bowl.  We have to watch lame ass Canadian commercials so I made a point this year of noting every sponsor and boycotting their products.   Royal Bank of Canada stock dropped sharply after I closed my account.

So now the CRTC wants to tax Canadian internet users to support Canadian content?  Big mistake!  I really hope that this threat of another tax grab by this dinosaur government department will put the CRTC in the spotlight and enough people bitch about it to their MPs that someone with some wisdom and power in Ottawa will tell them to STFU.

Maclean's magazine put it best when they said:

"Perhaps the media will now realize that the CRTC is no longer a mere nuisance, to be suffered in silence. It is a mortal threat: the most serious to press freedom in generations."