Roundup: Faux concern over a decades-old system

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We’re now on or about day forty-seven of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and Ukrainian forces are digging in and preparing for a renewed Russian offensive on the eastern and south-eastern portions of the country. UK prime minister Boris Johnson visited with president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv over the weekend, to show his support and solidarity in person. Elsewhere over the weekend, Ukraine was trying to ensure humanitarian corridors out of the Donbas region for Ukrainians to evacuate in advance of the coming Russian onslaught in the region.

https://twitter.com/ZelenskyyUa/status/1512858863728570369

https://twitter.com/NikaMelkozerova/status/1513190467743236103

Closer to home, we are being subjected to a bunch of nonsense around Canadian content regulations in the context of Bill C-11, which updates the Broadcasting Act to now include streaming platforms like Netflix or Disney+. The particular nonsense? The notion that the CRTC will define what qualifies as Canadian. Erm, except they have been doing this already. They’ve had a well-defined point system for what counts as CanCon since 1984. Nineteen gods-damned eighty-four. This is not new. Extending broadcast regulations to streaming platforms changes absolutely nothing about what counts as Canadian content, because the rules are platform neutral. For decades, production companies needed a 6/10 on the CanCon scale to qualify for tax credits. None of this is new.

The problem, however, is that in the debates over C-11 (and its predecessor in the previous parliament, Bill C-10) you had Conservative MPs trying to make this an issue (and Rachael Thomas, who was then Rachael Harder, was particularly vocal about this). She kept trying to propagate this insane notion that somehow these rules should be in the legislation, which is bonkers because that shouldn’t be the job of Parliament, nor is legislation responsive in the way that regulation is. We have arm’s-length regulators like the CRTC for a reason, which is to de-politicise these kinds of decisions. Sure, everyone comes up with supposedly scandalous examples of why certain things which may sound Canadian on the surface isn’t considered Canadian under the CanCon rules (such as The Handmaid’s Tale series), and it’s only until you look at the points system and think through the rules that you realise that these examples really aren’t that scandalous. The whole point is to ensure that our industry isn’t just a branch plant for American productions who can do it cheaper and get tax credits up here. It’s to ensure that there are incentives for things that are actually Canadian-led and produced, and under Canadian creative control, to get made. You can argue that the rules need to be updated, but let’s not pretend that there is anything new here (and really, The Canadian Press deserves a rap on the knuckles for this kind of framing of the issue).

Good reads:

  • As part of the Stand Up for Ukraine fundraiser, Justin Trudeau announced another $100 million in humanitarian support for Ukraine and its neighbours.
  • Mélanie Joly is off to Indonesia and Vietnam as she develops the government’s Indo-Pacific strategy.
  • Here is a look at what measures are in the budget for combatting racism and hate crimes, particularly against religious minorities.
  • The budget is also increasing the disbursement quota for charities.
  • Here is a look at what is contained in the annual report on allegations and investigations into wrongdoing by civil servants.
  • With the Arbour Report coming down next month, there are concerns about the capacity in the Canadian Forces brass to do the defence policy review as well.
  • The US Ambassador to Canada says there are talks ongoing about how to prevent future blockades at the border by extremist-led groups.
  • NATO’s Secretary General says they are planning a permanent presence at the Russian border in order to deter future aggression.
  • Her Excellency Governor General Mary May Simon marked the 105th anniversary of the battle of Vimy Ridge on Saturday.
  • The Liberals have scheduled their biennial policy conference for May of next year.
  • Jean Charest continues to go after Poilievre’s positions on the occupation, crypto, and climate change.
  • The Star has determined that the bulk of Ontario’s rapid tests went to private schools and large firms, and not to hotspots.
  • Mike Moffatt doesn’t see a plan for how the budget plans to double housing completions over the next decade, as there are a lot of factors to go wrong.
  • Justin Ling traces the conspiracy theory that has been picked up and amplified by Russia as disinformation in order to justify the invasion.
  • Chantal Hébert sees the rise of a populist provincial conservative party in Quebec as being bad news for Charest, as its supporters hew closer to Poilievre.

Odds and ends:

My latest Loonie Politics Quick Take looks at the budget’s call for a defence policy review, and why it’s only half of what is necessary.

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