Friday, July 6, 2012

First post in a long time, some policy discussion!

I haven't posted in forever, so I decided to break out of the doldrums of summer by posting a policy I'm considering submitting for OYL Summer Fling on reforming Canadian Content regulations. Here it is:

Whereas - Canadian music deserves to be supported and funded for both economic and cultural reasons,

Whereas- Canadians are accessing more and more content online, bypassing the traditional models of Canadian Content regulation and promotion, [1]

Whereas- Many Canadian bands and performers have recently had more success from establishing popularity outside of Canada, or from online promotion,

Whereas- Canadians access Canadian Content on websites like Youtube at as high a rate as non-Canadian content, without any regulatory regime in place [2]

Whereas- Modern technology and the nature of cultural consumption by Canadian consumers has increasingly made an anachronism of Canadian content regulations for commercial music radio stations,

Be it resolved that - A Liberal government commits to updating the mandate of Industry Canada, the Ministry of Canadian Heritage and the CRTC to better reflect the nature of Canadian musical production and promotion in the 21st century by phasing out the requirements for commercial radio music stations to play 35% CanCon.

Be it further resolved that - A Liberal government commits to directly supporting Canadian artists and not a regulatory framework by committing to increasing the funding for programs like FACTOR (the Foundation Assisting Canadian Talent on Recordings) and Starmaker which fund new Canadian artists.

Be it further resolved that - In recognition of the need for a funding model for giving greater direct support for programs that support Canadian artists, the federal government ensure that ISP's pay a fraction of their Canadian profits directly to these programs.

Be it further resolved: Nickelback sucks.
Citations:
For citation 1: Statistics Canada’s 2009 Canadian Internet Use Survey: 80% of adult Canadians used the internet for personal use https://www.lib.uwo.ca/blogs/education/2010/05/statistics-canadas-canadian-in.html
For citation 2: "Who needs Cancon?", Winnipeg Free Press, Jan 14, 2012: "YouTube reports that Canadian videos are being sought-out and viewed at a rate roughly on par with those originating in the U.S...Annually, in fact, [Youtube] calculate[s] that the site features more original Canadian content than has ever been broadcast during prime time on CBC (English and French) and CTV combined." http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/who-needs-cancon-137339598.html