Other / Canada
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Over the past month a lot of attention has been paid in the Canadian news media to Bill C-10 — and rightfully so. The Bill includes more than a hundred amendments to the Income Tax Act, but one little clause about the film industry seems to be stirring all this controversy; a clause that allows the Heritage Minister to determine if “public financial support of the production would not be contrary to public policy.”
In plain English, this means that one man has the right to refuse tax credits and other incentives provided by the government to film and television productions that he doesn’t feel are in keeping with public policy. The problem? Nowhere does this amendment state what “contrary to public policy” actually means or what specific credits and incentives would be removed. Considering the number of jobs and dollars that float their way to “Hollywood North” every year, this could prove detrimental not only in determining what we watch but to a large segment of our economy.
A few great bits of reading on the subject;
If you’re at all bothered by this, there are a number of petitions floating around out there in cyberspace you can sign (and even a Facebook group with a large support base), but nothing is ever more effective than contacting your local MP and telling them how you feel.
I went into this article attempting to offer a fair and balanced reporting of this situation, but the more I searched the less I found as far as support for this bill goes. The only backing I found was in a parlimentary press release: “Bill C-10 has nothing to do with censorship and everything to do with the integrity of the tax system. The goal is to ensure public trust in how tax dollars are spent.” If there was any truth to that, wouldn’t they just modify the offending clause that obviously has everything to do with censorship?
Where do you stand on the issue?
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Eugene Mirman is an American comedian who occassionally posts up some fantastically absurd videos on YouTube. This one happens to be about Canada. The language is briefly NSFW, so make sure to get the kiddies out of the room before clicking play.
“Canada is what happens when love falls in love.” How can anyone not agree that that should be our new national slogan?
[via fjetsam]
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From now until April 29th, CBC is offering free previews on two of it’s newest premium channels.
The Documentary Channel, which has been around for a few years now but was recently purchased by the CBC, showcases a number of top quality documentary films as well as shows discussing issues affecting our society. Right now the channel is featuring The Devil Came on Horseback, a great doc on the crisis in Darfur. Well worth checking out if you have the time to catch it. The CBC has nailed down a deal with the US documentary Sundance channel, so expect to see a good number of award-winning docs in the near future.
The other channel, Bold, is a rebranding of CBC Country Canada. It will feature a selection of programming comparable with that on PBS. Shows like Live From Abbey Road, the Cirque Du Soliel program Kooza, and a number of CBC Radio shows being re-imagined for television will be prominently featured. Call your local service provider to find out channel numbers.
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If you watched Hockey Night in Canada anytime in the 1970’s, chances are you’re intimately familiar with the one they call Peter Puck. A joint collaboration between the NHL and Hanna-Barbera Studios, Mr. Puck was an animated fellow who taught kids (and Americans on NBC Game of the Week) the basic principles of the game. Check out the video above for the very first episode of Peter Puck, “How to Play the Game.”
If you’re an old school fan of the Puck or just looking to teach your kids the finer points of hockey, the complete Peter Puck collection is available on DVD. It runs about 30 minutes, which explains why you can pick it up on Chapters.ca for only $12.99. Don’t forget to make your Chapters purchases through the SmartCanucks CashBack program to save even more!
mrG left a a very interesting comment on the Nelly Furtado Earth Hour concert which is sponsored by Bullfrog Power. I think he raises a very important point and we shouldn’t be blindedly falling for everything that claims to be “Green”.
This is so … wrong. It just is and I can illustrate a sliver of the wrongness of it with a numerical example:
The sponsors are Bullfrog, who admirably bill themselves as “green, carbon-free power” which they are, and I think that is great, but read the fine print! What they say they do for us is this: “don’t need any special equipment or wiring and there is no change in the reliability of your service. We inject green power onto the Ontario grid to match the amount of power your home uses. You have the comfort of knowing that your electricity dollars are supporting clean, renewable power instead of polluting and carbon-intensive sources like coal. It’s that simple.”
But is it that simple? You see, what they describe is absurd. They are not going to measure my meter and go “Oh, hey better turn up the windmill another notch, some guy in Sauble Beach is using a bit more power today!” No, they have their generators, all very green, and the law of Ontario says Ontario Power must pay ‘market rates’ for any energy added to the grid. So Bullfrog hooks up their windmills, and the money flows in.
But dig the line “Bullfrog Power does cost a little more than regular electricity” … ah, you see? Ontario Power will pay them X dollars per kilowatt-hour but you and I can get suckered into paying them X dollars plus a bit for those same kilowatt-hours, duped by our own noble good nature in wanting to help. They already have the windmills and generators, they had investors and boards of directors and business plans and it all made sense because they had the guarantee of market rates for their green power. But they figured out a way to get a government-subsidy … by taxing our guilt.
Clever lads. But is it ethical? I mean, I’d love to dump nuclear power and would do it in a minute if I believed their story, but dig, they’ve already lied to me and I’m not even a customer yet!
Comments?
This isn’t Canadian news, but it’s related to one of the most prominent landmarks on earth, the Eiffel Tower of Paris. To celebrate the 120th Anniversary of the Eiffel Tower, a new Observation Deck will go up next year. This gives the Eiffel Tower a totally different feel and look. It resembles these ugly structures we see in futuristic movies rather than the romantic tower that it used to be. Thank goodness this change will only be “temporary”.
Click here for more pics of Eiffel Tower’s New Observation Deck
Flickr‘s awesome. For those of you that are coming a little late to the party, let me get you up to speed. Flickr is a free web-based service offered by Yahoo that lets you store, tag, and share your photos. They have a community of photo-enthusiasts that would put your local camera shop to shame.
I’ve been a user of flickr for a few years, and it’s only now just dawning on me that some of you may not realize what a great resource for Canadian pretty it is.
If you’re looking for a new wallpaper, just hop on over to the flickr group Canada from Sea to Sea. They have nearly 20,000 of the coolest photos Canada has to offer.
While you’re there why not contribute a few yourself?
You’ve got to watch this even if you’re not into hockey 🙂
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I enjoyed watching the movie I Am Legend but I thought the ending was terrible and made no sense what so ever. Turns out, Will Smith and the rest of the cast had filmed a different ending as well. I’m not sure if I like that ending either; it’s a bit too “hollywoody”. Here’s the alternative ending… Do you like it more?
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The City of Toronto has decided to roll out an interesting proposal — rather than spend money on youth-related projects without any perspective, they’ve decided to create a youth panel to make recommendations on programs that might engage kids in high-risk neighbourhoods. Anyone ages 14-24 can apply to be on the panel by submitting their ideas for youth-related initiatives via this application form.
If you have a son or daughter in the alloted age range it’s a great opportunity for them to learn about city government first hand while giving something back to the community. Applications for the program, entitled “Identify ‘n’ Impact Investment Fund,” are being accepted until March 14th. More information ca be found on the official site.
[via Toronto City Guide]
It was snowing and slippery today and I didn’t have the right shoes on, yet I braved the weather and walked to Tim Hortons to keep my challenge with dawger going. It was worth it! I won a free coffee 🙂
That makes the score: dawger 0 – Boo Radley 1
Michelle also left a comment about requesting a free cup from Timmies this year:
Hey Boo they are offering FREE cups again(I found this in the rules):
2. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO PLAY: In Canada, obtain a FREE Tim Hortons contest cup and/or a copy of the official rules, by writing to:
Tim Hortons Contest Cup, P.O. Box 9899, Saint John, New Brunswick, E2L 4P8.
All requests for a Free Cup must be postmarked by May 3, 2008 and received by May 11, 2008. Limit of one request per envelope with sufficient postage, while supplies last. All requests must include a postage-paid, self-addressed envelope.
It would also be interesting to see if anyone wins off of these “FREEBIESâ€!
Tim Hortons Roll Up the Rim to Win 2008 started today 🙂 Time to start guzzling loads of coffee each day!
A blogger known as dawger started an interesting blog where he tracks his Roll Up the Rim winnings. I think it’s a fun idea so I’ve decided to compete with him. Let’s see who’s the luckier person 🙂
I’ll buy one drink each day and post a picture of the cup. Today I bought a double double medium coffee and I didn’t win anything. Neither did dawger so the score’s 0 – 0.
Click here to visit the Adventures in Roll Up The Rim To Win blog
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It may not be a deal, but it’s too cute not too share. Now if only I could get my kid to watch Star Wars with me.
[via fjetsam]
Monopoly is choosing which cities to include in its upcoming Monopoly World Edition. The competition is intense!
Vote for Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver (you can vote for all 3 cities). Spread the word! Tell your friends! Create facebook groups! Lets get our 3 wonderful cities on the Monopoly World Edition! Maybe even have one in Monopoly’s expensive blue area!
Click here to vote for Canadian cities in the Monopoly World Edition
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