Letter: Goodbye CHEK, hello Fox News North
The Editor,
I believe strongly that is time for the Canadian government to support, fund and ensure Canadian control of our airwaves and other means of creation or access to Canadian arts, culture and film. True Tories have always stood proudly for Canadian culture and our historical roots; the present government does not.
It seems the present government in Ottawa has little interest in the life of Canadians as a people. So we find that it is as a mere matter of commerce that access to our media, including television services, is governed today. Sadly this evening the lights will go out in the studios of BC’s first and oldest commercial television station, CHEK TV, to be replaced, on the Lower Mainland, by broadcast of a US station an affiliate of network which is often describable as hostile to Canada and Canadian institutions, Fox TV. We are left to ask “Where is the CRTC?” Shouldn’t a Canadian station be found to replace a Canadian station should the latter fade to black, whether commercial or public? Why would a foreign network, and one whose history is one of hostility to Canada, be given access when domestic stations from across the country could just as easily be broadcast, given today’s technology?
Surely we would be remiss in not expecting and requiring that Canada’s government commit to reversing such decisions. Surely we would be remiss in not expecting and requiring the Canada’s government reverse recent cuts to culture and support stable Canadian Television Fund, Telefilm and the CBC funding, oppose arbitrary powers of censorship, and fix CRTC and foreign ownership rules to ensure Canadian sovereign control of our airwaves. Surely CRTC content and spending requirements must enable private broadcasters to tell our stories, the CBC to fund culture, and limit foreign ownership of Canadian media – to ensure Canadian content and access to Canadian arts and culture.
Where is the CRTC? Where is Canada’s government?
Brian Marlatt
White Rock BC
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