Calvin's Place

Here we are on the brink of breaking into 2010, so much to look forward to with the new decade, and we’re looking at one of the least surprising moves of the year.

As happened last year, we’re facing Prime Minister Stephen Harper wishing to prorogue Parliament, effectively killing any proposed legislation on the order paper (including the Conservatives much-touted anti-crime bill) and suspending any parliamentary business until March.  Last year this was done with the Conservative government facing a non-confidence move by a coalition of the opposition.

This year, it would coincide with the Olympic Winter Games, with no real purpose whatsoever, which would lead to a grave abuse of the democratic process, something this government seems to be no stranger to.  It was much publicized that there was a 200 page manual the party issued to their caucus that explained ways to stall parliamentary business should things not to be going to the partys liking.  This in addition to continued allegations of petty partisanship and favoritism in the distribution (or lack thereof) of funds from the so-called “Economic Action Plan”, which is seeing lots of signs going up at the sites that funding have supposedly gone to, but is not seeing any real work done and few jobs created.

I am growing increasingly concerned and disappointed with the governance of this nation.  I really, sincerely wish that this prorogation does not happen.

Canwest is at it again.

For the second time in the past month, there was a piece running in the Calgary Herald about “saving” local TV.  This time however, it was written by the VP of Government Relations for Canwest Broadcasting, one Mike Woollatt.

This piece was no different from the one before, in that it beat up on the Cable and Satellite providers in the country and billed the big broadcasters as both the victim of a bully stealing their lunch money and the arbiters of local television.  This is getting old.

Canwest, CTVGlobemedia, CBC, CHEK News, NTV and all others involved in the Local TV Matters campaign, spare me your propaganda.  Same goes for the cable companies.  This crap is getting tired and using the consumers as pawns in a game of who can beat up enough on who, and who will get the money.

Don’t waste my time.

Today is not a good day for Canadian consumers.

The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommuncations Commission (CRTC) handed down a decision that deals a serious and quite honestly sickening blow to Globalive Wireless, which was to launch in Canada under the WIND mobile brand.

Basically, the decision says that Globalive has 65% ownership by Orascom Telecom Holding S.A.E., and as such would not meet the test of Canadian ownership, as much as they already meet requirements for Canadian control under the same regulation.  As such, WIND’s much awaited launch in the new year has been delayed.

What makes this inquiry ridiculous is that it was launched by the incument carriers that were so against allowing new entrants into the game to begin with.  We have the most profitable wireless companies in the developed world, what would a little competition hurt, aside from a few egos?

This isn’t over.  Consumers are pissed.  We aren’t going to take any more of this.

You can’t stop the WIND.

The battle over local TV hits a critical point in about 4 days when the submission deadline for CRTC consultation 2009-614 closes.

Holding the opinion of the battle that I have, and only having voiced it in blogs, tweets and to friends up to now, I have submitted comments to the commission and encourage you to do the same (and please, form your own opinion without drinking the kool aid of either the broadcasters or the cable companies).

I include my comments below.

Please accept the following comments in response to Notice of Consultation 2009-614.

Local Television is meant to be where ideas and information relevant to the local identity are disseminated.  This basic principle has been in decline of late, all in the pursuit of profit.

Given the recent economic turmoil, and to a certain extent even beforehand, the traditional revenue stream of many broadcasters has been in decline.  One such company, Canwest, has had to file for bankruptcy protection for the holding company of Global Television, one of the major proponents of the “Local TV Matters” campaign that has hit the web, the airwaves, the street and even the editorial pages of Canwest-operated newspapers.

This “Local TV Matters” campaign very strongly implies that the conventional broadcasters know what’s best for local television.  With the level of American programming displayed on these networks, in comparison with the grossly disproportionate amount of local programming, in some cases only one or two local newscasts a day, the campaign is lent no credibility whatsoever.

As a former volunteer with Rogers TV in the province of New Brunswick, I can confidently say that the level of local programming distributed by these broadcasters leaves a great deal to be desired, and now they say they’re going to close stations if they don’t get their way.  This is unacceptable.

It is not the fault of the cable systems that these broadcasters are experiencing a drop in their revenue that now has one of their own in bankruptcy protection, owing several million dollars to American programming distributors.  In this case, the broadcasters have nobody to blame but themselves.

The model is fundamentally broken, but it is not necessarily just the distribution networks that need to change.

I would encourage the commission to set standards for local programming and to move swiftly to ensure that no more local stations face the axe because these broadcasters failed to develop a sustainable revenue generation strategy.

There has been much ado in the news lately about the possible sale of Énergie NB Power, the crown corporation that provides electricity generation, transmission and retailing in New Brunswick to Hydro Québec, the corporation that serves the same purpose for the province of Québec.

This comes at a time when Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd (AECL)  is several months behind schedule on the refurbishment of the Point Lepreau nuclear generating station, operated by NB Power, the same utility facing nearly $5 billion in debt.

There is a great deal of concern, not without merit I may add, that a purchase of NB Power by Hydro Québec could shut other utilities out of the lucrative markets in the energy-hungry united states, as the utilities in the provinces of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador can only viably send power into these markets via New Brunswick, something that is rumored to be at risk should a sale to Hydro Québec go ahead.

This in and of itself shows that the sale may not serve the interests of New Brunswickers all too well, as the economic benefits of allowing jurisdictions to transmit power through the province could provide a source of funds allowing NB Power to maintain a reasonable revenue stream, but this would carry the negative of the province continuing to shoulder the billions in debt that the utility faces, something that would not be the case if the sale were to proceed.

Such talk has turned into a political minefield as well.  There is no confirmation from the government of a deal at this time, although the government is stating that “Everything is on the table at this point” (NB Energy Minister Jack Kier).  Whether this comes to anything remains to be seen at this point in time.  Whether it serves the interest of New Brunswickers also remains to be seen.

All one can hope is that the government and NB Power management would do what is best for New Brunswickers.  The people of the province should expect nothing less.

UPDATE: Premiers Shawn Graham and Jean Charest have announced a memorandum of understanding that will see Hydro Québec will be acquiring the majority of NB Power’s assets for an amount equivalent to NB Power’s debt.  Details are available at lowerratesnb.ca or hydroquebec.com/media

Today, news came out that Iranian-Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari was released on bail from a prison in Iran, where he is facing allegations of spying.  While his release is certainly a good thing, it immediately reminded me of another Iranian-Canadian, one that isn’t quite as well known.

Blogger Hossein Derakhshan, often referred to as “Hoder” is reportedly still imprisoned in Iran awaiting charges, though there are reports that he has been accused of spying for Israel, where he paid a visit in 2006 on his Canadian passport.

Hoder first came to my attention listening to Search Engine, at the time a CBC podcast, but now hosted by TVO.  Since then, from what I understand, the situation hasn’t really changed at all, though it would seem that many have all but forgotten him.

I encourage you to look online, get up to speed on his case and join me and many others in asking “Where’s Hoder?”  It could well make a difference, however small in getting awareness of the “Iranian Blogfather’s” case out, and it could well add a little extra pressure on Canadian officials to pursue his case.

I went digging through my old blog and found this interesting little tidbit of a post, circa 2007, talking about the oft-maligned youth of today.  Being a bit older and having had the opportunity to observe a bit more, my opinion hasn’t changed significantly from then, particularly in the sense that a lot of the problem isn’t always traceable back to young people.

I leave you this:

I’ve had about enough of adults, particularly adults that are over 30.

There’s always crime in any community, but “adults” are quick to pass blame onto youth like myself and anyone else from 12-30.  This is especially true in summer when people are not in school and have some idle time.

A lot of this problem is over drugs.  The way I see it, we wouldn’t have a drug problem if parents and adults pulled their heads out of whatever hole or bodily orfice it was in and actually paid attention to the fact that other adults give kids drugs, alcohol and cigarettes then the kids in turn pass them around and like magic, we have a problem.  Where did it start?  The adults.

If there’s anyone over 30 reading this that does not pass blame to youth, I apologize for lumping you into this group, but your peers screwed it up for everyone.

I try to be an advocate for youth, particularly in a bid to help clean up the community, so it obviously makes me angry whenever I read or hear of adults saying “our community is going to hell because of the kids”.  Give me a break.  Wake up, smell the coffee and realize one thing: you and members of your generation are the ones that made our generation the oppressed, pissed off and divided generation we are.

The disconnect has grown exponentially over the past several years.  There are initiatives to engage the younger generations in the community, but you seldom see those get noticed.  Instead, you hear about the kids that vandalized the side of the school and got caught smoking dope in the school parking lot.

I’m done rambling, but have some advice for the older generations.  The golden rule dictates “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”.  That being said, the return is coming and in some cases is already here.

I’ve said my piece for now.  You don’t like it, too bad, you had it coming.

I was reading about a poll the CBC commissioned recently about Health Care in Alberta.  In reading about it, there was an article on the CBC Calgary homepage that suggests that a narrow 58% of people supported the return of premiums, with the Alberta Health Care system facing a billion-dollar shortfall.  While the shortfall is undeniable, the usefulness of reinstating premiums on the Alberta Health Care Insurance Plan (AHCIP) is questionable at best.

The question posed was “Would you support the re-introduction of health care premiums in order to help cover the health care funding shortfall?  Is this strongly or somewhat?”

If asked the way it’s written, there’s two problems with the question.  First, it’s loaded to boot.  Yes there is a shortfall in health care funding, however with the costs of collecting the premiums, it could well be that it’s little more than a self-sustaining tax, which would pose no benefit in the face of the shortfall.  Second, if posed as it is, it assumes one supports the re-introduction to begin with, so some people may have been led to a particular response, but we can’t know that for sure.

What I do know is, it’s not the first time I’ve heard of the CBC posing loaded questions in polls or just in general.  For example, an associate producer that works on the CBC Radio Twitter handle (cbcradio) asked a while back if users would support either ads on the radio or cuts.  CBC Radio is ad-free and the people that listen generally want it to stay that way, so being backed into a corner, a number of people did end up replying that they would rather see cuts before ads.

So, to the CBC, what the hell?  Why the loaded questions?  Yes your polls are conducted within the Journalistic Standards and Practices framework you have in place, but the way the question is posed is like asking if somebody would like a kick in the groin over having their bike stolen, or something similar.

I would love if somebody from the Mother Corp. would be willing to get in touch to discuss the poll, heck I’ll make it fun, they may even get to do a guest post about it.  Let me know, CBC, I’d love to hear from you.

The Calgary Herald reported today that ridership on Calgary Transit has slipped, with administration musing that it could be part of a “recessionary trend”.  I beg to differ.

I’ve been critical of Calgary’s public transportation system in the past.  Granted, during my time in Saint John, I came to appreciate Calgary Transit’s quality of service, but am now reminded that the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.  This is mainly because despite some changes, Calgary Transit really hasn’t changed much at all since I left in 2008.

The fares are still going up year after year (with adults getting dangerously close to paying $100 for a monthly pass), the service levels haven’t changed (with the exception of expanded Bus Rapid Transit service), plus that rumored west leg of the LRT still hasn’t been started yet.

Is it really any wonder why ridership is slipping when we’re paying more and more for a lot of the same?

I would like to personally call on city council to hold a full, open and public review of Calgary Transit as it presently stands, and encourage you to join me.

I have started an online petition to be sent to city council on November 30.  I would encourage as many of you as possible to sign and show your support for a review of our broken transit system.

So the major networks got their wish and the CRTC introduced fee-for-carriage, making the Cable and Satellite providers pay for the signals from CBC, Global, CTV and A Channel.  The general consensus about the fallout was that people’s Cable and Satellite bills would go up.  They did.

Did the networks stop there?  No.

Now they’ve got their propaganda train going againwith a program called Local TV Matters.  This basically tries to give the networks the image of being defenders of the public, fighting for the little guy.  That, my friends, is the magic of television once again.

Truth be told, the networks already got their wish.  What could possibly be posessing them to soldier on and smear the cable and satellite providers more than they already have?

If they want people on side, they need to start actually caring about local television.  Closing stations in Ottawa, Hamilton and Red Deer is not doing that.  Basing most Maritime television out of Halifax is not doing that.  CBC actually does some decent local work for each province, while Global Maritimes quietly closed their office in Saint John, NB.  There’s no word on CTV’s activity in that market, but I’m convinced they aren’t much better than Global.

The fact of the matter is that while Local TV does matter, it needs to be done in a way that actually reflects the local reality.  Having a few provinces based out of one city, with weather done on the other side of the country does not do that.  Closing stations does not do that.  Continued smear campaigns against the companies carrying their signals does not do that.

My message to CTV, Global and A Channel is: Get a clue.  Your concept of “local TV” is disgusting.  To CBC: it’s unfortunate that you had to make those programming cuts, it’s just as unfortunate that you’ve sunk to the level of the others in this fight.  I would have expected better of the one network that was doing a decent job of making local TV in some of these markets (not to mention the outstanding local radio service).