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THE CRTC's HIDDEN AGENDA
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications
Commission (CRTC), was established in 1968 to regulate Canadian
broadcasting. At that time, there were only a limited number
of airwaves available and it was believed that these few airwaves
should be used to protect Canadian values and culture from
foreign sources of information and entertainment.
The situation today has changed dramatically.
There is now a 500-channel universe, brought about by digital
channels and satellites which have melted the CRTC's ability
to control broadcasting in Canada. This has turned the CRTC
into an anachronism. However, with its $22 million budget,
the CRTC, happily still insists on deciding what is politically
and socially acceptable, so as to maintain "Canadian
values" in our broadcasting system. The values, of course,
are left of centre which coincides, by no accident, with the
Liberal government's agenda. In setting these standards, however,
the CRTC is ignoring its mandate, under S.3 of the federal
Broadcasting Act (1992), which states explicitly that
Canadian broadcasting must reflect Canadian attitudes and
opinions and provide a reasonable opportunity for the public
to be exposed to the expression of differing views on matters
of public concern. This definitely is not happening.
The little known commissioners of the CRTC
are all appointed by the federal cabinet and have earned their
positions on the basis of their partisan favours for the government.
The cabinet may appoint up to 13 full-time and 6 part-time
Commissioners for renewable terms of up to 5 years to carry
out the CRTC's mandate. Since these Commissioners are friends
and supporters of the Liberal government, it is not surprising
that the CRTC's decisions reflect the views and philosophy
of the Liberal elites who appointed them. Simply put, these
politically-appointed, unaccountable mandarins should not
have the power they now exercise to decide what Canadians
can and cannot listen to or view. This is especially the case
today, when the CRTC's purpose has been negated by technological
changes.
Homosexual TV Channel
There is no better example of the CRTC's determination
to ensure a left wing liberal agenda in Canada than its promotion
of homosexuality on Canadian airwaves.
In 1999, the CRTC reviewed over 250 applications
for digital specialty TV licenses. The awarding of these licenses
was of crucial importance since specialty channels have now
overtaken conventional stations as the top revenue generators
in the Canadian broadcasting industry. For example, as a reflection
of the importance of specialty TV, in 2004 its revenue jumped
by 9%, compared with only 1% growth for conventional TV.
One of the applicants for a digital license
was the homosexual channel, PrideTV, owned by The Headline
Media Group which also owned the sports channel "The
Score." In its application for a license, PrideTV claimed
that demand for its services would be 330,000 in the first
year, and 550,000 viewers in seven years. One didn't have
to be a media expert, or even very well informed, to realize
that this projection was totally over the top.
However, in December 2000, the CRTC, in defiance
of objectivity or fairness, granted Pride Vision one of its
16 prized licenses. It was the first time in the world that
a homosexual channel was awarded a license to operate.
Not unexpectedly, by November 2002, Pride
Vision was floundering since it had only 20,000 subscribers
when it needed 240,000 viewers to break even. Consequently,
the channel was put up for sale. It was purchased by homosexual
William Craig, together with some homosexual businesses, including
Pink Triangle Press, which publishes the homosexual newspaper
Capital Xtra as well as two other homosexual community newspapers
in Toronto and Vancouver. Mr. Craig is a former bureaucrat
with the CRTC. The purchase price was $1.4 million, plus an
agreement to take on the existing debt of $1.1 million.
Mr. Craig re-launched the homosexual station
lower down on the dial and in order to greatly increase the
subscriber base, made a deal with some of the cable distributors
to include his channel, renamed OUT TV, in a package deal
or "bundle", where it would be sold as part of a
cable package. Mr. Craig also has another homosexual channel
called "HARD", which was also recently licensed
by the CRTC. It will provide hard-core homosexual adult content
24 hours a day, 7 days a week. However, it is a stand-alone
pay channel further up the dial.
The material on the homosexual channel, OUT
TV, is scarcely "mainstream" and is definitely not
family entertainment. It is located among Roger's Cable "Lifestyle"
tier of services, which includes Fine Living, Fashion Television
and the Food Network. Children have access to these programs
plus OUT TV, if their parents have purchased the bundle of
programs offered. This homosexual OUT TV channel, is also
carried by two other cable companies, Cogeco, and Videotron
in their packages. Shaw and Bell Express Vu, however, have
refused to include OUT TV in their cable packages and have
instead placed it with their Playboy and Venus adult channels
on a pay-per-view services only.
OUT TV however, claims that the two cable
companies, Shaw and Bell Express Vu, are discriminating against
it for refusing to include this channel in their packages.
OUT TV has now lodged a complaint with the CRTC about this
alleged discrimination. We already know the outcome of that
complaint!
Please write to or phone the Canadian cable
TV operators, Rogers, COGECO and Videotron and object to their
carrying the homosexual channel in their packages. Please
thank Shaw Cable and Bell Express Vu for their refusal to
include homosexual channels in their packages and showing
them only on the pay-per-view service. The names and addresses
of the cable companies are as follows:
Edward Rogers Jr.
Rogers Communications Inc
10-333 Bloor St. E.
Toronto, Ontario M4W 1G9
416-935-7777
COGECO Cable Inc.
5, Place Ville-Marie, Suite 915
Montreal, Quebec, H3B 2G2
Tel.: 514-874-2600
Videotron
300 Viger Est
Montreal, Quebec H2X 3W4
Tel: 514-281-1711
Shaw Cable
Barlow Bldg
2400 Thirty Second Ave. NE
Calgary, AB T2A 6T9
Bell Express Vu
100 Wynford Dr.
Don Mills, Ontario M3C 1K4
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