Why The CRTC Still Sucks . . .

Yet another year goes by and Canadians (even Canadiens) are treated as second class citizens. Thanks to Global TV, (thanks Global) they took it upon themselves to secure the Canadian rights to the Superbowl. What this means to us is that it also gives them the right to hijack the American channels carrying the Superbowl. That means instead of us getting to watch funny and entertaining commercials - we get to watch the same Tim Horton and Canadian Tire (or whatever companies advertised) commercial 3000 times.

We have asked the CRTC to do one thing for us - they're still working on it - they've been working on for at least five years - the "No-Call Registry." It only took the Americans one year to set theirs up and it works great. Here, it is another story. Why can't we get rid of those annoying unsolicited calls? If the CRTC can't get their heads around the concept - why don't they contract the whole thing out to the FCC?

If and when they do pull off the Do Not Call registry - I think they (The CRTC)should be disbanded and the whole TV industry should be deregulated - let the chips fall where they may. It would be nice to watch the "real" HBO, ESPN, etc. - not the Canadian version thereof.

I think that eventually with increases to bandwidth, people will be able to circumnavigate the CRTC via the web, and subscribe to whatever channel, programming they wish. I, personally, can't wait for that day . . .

In the meantime - boycott the companies that advertised with Global during the Superbowl. If we can punish these companies - they won't advertise with the station. This year, AOL Canada, broadcast the American commercials almost in real time - so people like me could bypass people at Global altogether. Like I said - thanks to the Internet - we're getting closer folks!