Editorial

Canadian Capitalism Demanding an End to Canada as a Nation

Not content with owning the largest media monopoly in Canada, the Asper family is now calling for a virtual end to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Citing "unfair competition" with the private sector, Izzy Asper and his son Leonard are demanding that CBC television get out of the business of providing news and opinion programs and stick to promoting "Canadian culture". They are also demanding that the CBC be forbidden from competing with the private sector for advertising dollars.

Apart from the incongruity of suggesting that news and opinion are not important aspects of a nation's culture, the Aspers' demands are a reflection of the fact that Canadian capitalists no longer have any interest in defending the nation of Canada. Instead, they see their interests (i.e. maximum profits) best served by the total economic and political integration of Canada with the United States.

Every nation has its own national institutions which serve to define it as a nation. Some of those institutions, such as the postal service, are more or less universal. Others may be unique to a particular country. Almost every country in the world, except for the United States, has a government-owned national broadcasting system.

Canada's public broadcasting system, with its flagship the CBC, is one of those institutions which has become synonymous with the nation of Canada.The CBC has the mandate of promoting national unity and a national identity. Whatever one thinks of how well the CBC has fulfilled its mandate, it is undeniable that it has played a significant role in fostering a unique Canadian identity. It has done so partly by promoting Canadian programs and artists, although many would argue that it has done far too little in that regard, preferring to broadcast predominantly American shows. Where it has been most successful has been in its news and opinion programs, precisely those programs that the Aspers would like to see axed.

Since the arrival of neo-liberalism on the scene during the 1980s, many of Canada's national institutions have been either shut down or privatized. Canadian National Railways, Air Canada and the countries airports have all been privatized. The Science Council of Canada and the Economic Council of Canada have been dismantled. There is ongoing pressure that the medical system should be privatized and now these demands to destroy the CBC . There have also been calls to do away with the National Film Board and other arts institutions and leave the creation of Canadian "culture" in the hands of the private sector.

A people deprived of their culture cannot survive. We have a good example within our own borders with the Aboriginal peoples who have suffered terribly as a result of the deliberate destruction of their culture. It is ludicrous to suggest that those who see no need for the existence of Canada as an independent nation can be trusted to preserve, protect and promote Canadian culture.