Have you ever tried to get in touch with the Canadian Radio-Television Commission, better known as the CRTC?.These are the folks who control all the broadcasting and media in Canada, and now want to control the Internet and what you stream..Truth be told, it would be easier to contact President Joe Biden at the White House than anyone at the CRTC..I tried everything, phone messages, e-mails, the whole nine yards. And, I had an in..A friend of mine used to work for the CRTC and gave me inside contact info. It still didn’t work. Nada. Nothing..Even CRTC Commissioner for Alberta and NWT, Nirmala Naidoo, shunned me. And I work in the media. I’m not a random crazy man. At least not lately..I could easily conclude from this the CRTC doesn’t give a damn about Canadians, especially those of us in the West. But maybe that’s too much of an extrapolation..Maybe they’re just wholly incompetent. Let’s go with that..The CRTC and their phony-baloney, high-paying government jobs aside, the reason I wanted to contact them was to complain..You see, there is a morning CTV television program called The Social. It’s a women’s talk show, which covers national and world events but mostly in the vein of health and lifestyle issues and entertainment topics..All four hosts — Melissa Grelo, Cynthia Loyst, Lainey Lui and Jess Allen — are intelligent, interesting women, with strong views. .I have watched the show for several years and I must say, it’s not bad..Lainey in particular. She’s a straight shooter. Says what she means, means what she says..And really, they are all good at what they do..But I realized after watching for many years there is a problem — a big problem..The views are all Eastern-based, Eastern-influenced, Eastern-centric. .And no matter what the producers of this show do, nothing is going to change that..I would not say the Western view is being marginalized. Rather, I would say it is being entirely ignored. .The reason I wanted to contact the CRTC was to express the opinion — politely and with due respect — for the creation of a “Western Social” program, with Western women expressing their views on hot topics..I know — it’s water from the moon as they say — unattainable. The CRTC appears to go out of its way to ignore us. They just don’t care about comments from regular folks so it will probably never happen..This is why we still don’t have good wifi in the Arctic, by the way..But getting back to The Social..Producers, whether it be CTV or CBC could easily put together an intelligent panel of Western women for a Western Social morning or afternoon talk show..We haven’t just all fallen off a turnip truck out here in Alberta, just so you know. Albertans are people too, although Justin the Younger might not recognize that..Would it be a crime to have a daily Western women’s program, truly representative of the culture and fabric of Western issues and, yes, the frivolous ones too such as … what do you think of Harry and Meghan moving to LA?.I’m OK with that. I want to be entertained, but the West is – at least for now – a part of this country..How about we balance things off for once? . .There are interesting, talented and educated women from Manitoba to the shores of Vancouver Island. The world does not reside entirely in the 416..Western musical artists, authors, social influencers, chefs displaying new food trends, movers and shakers in different sectors, travel promoters, slimy politicians — it’s endless, and it’s waiting to happen..To quote Robert F. Kennedy: “Some men see things as they are, and ask why. I dream of things that never were, and ask why not.”.I got my point across. But the CRTC is still probably not listening. I am almost sure they’re shredding my column as we speak..Dave Makichuk is a Western Standard contributor. He has worked in the media for decades, including as an editor for the Calgary Herald..makichukd@gmail.com
Have you ever tried to get in touch with the Canadian Radio-Television Commission, better known as the CRTC?.These are the folks who control all the broadcasting and media in Canada, and now want to control the Internet and what you stream..Truth be told, it would be easier to contact President Joe Biden at the White House than anyone at the CRTC..I tried everything, phone messages, e-mails, the whole nine yards. And, I had an in..A friend of mine used to work for the CRTC and gave me inside contact info. It still didn’t work. Nada. Nothing..Even CRTC Commissioner for Alberta and NWT, Nirmala Naidoo, shunned me. And I work in the media. I’m not a random crazy man. At least not lately..I could easily conclude from this the CRTC doesn’t give a damn about Canadians, especially those of us in the West. But maybe that’s too much of an extrapolation..Maybe they’re just wholly incompetent. Let’s go with that..The CRTC and their phony-baloney, high-paying government jobs aside, the reason I wanted to contact them was to complain..You see, there is a morning CTV television program called The Social. It’s a women’s talk show, which covers national and world events but mostly in the vein of health and lifestyle issues and entertainment topics..All four hosts — Melissa Grelo, Cynthia Loyst, Lainey Lui and Jess Allen — are intelligent, interesting women, with strong views. .I have watched the show for several years and I must say, it’s not bad..Lainey in particular. She’s a straight shooter. Says what she means, means what she says..And really, they are all good at what they do..But I realized after watching for many years there is a problem — a big problem..The views are all Eastern-based, Eastern-influenced, Eastern-centric. .And no matter what the producers of this show do, nothing is going to change that..I would not say the Western view is being marginalized. Rather, I would say it is being entirely ignored. .The reason I wanted to contact the CRTC was to express the opinion — politely and with due respect — for the creation of a “Western Social” program, with Western women expressing their views on hot topics..I know — it’s water from the moon as they say — unattainable. The CRTC appears to go out of its way to ignore us. They just don’t care about comments from regular folks so it will probably never happen..This is why we still don’t have good wifi in the Arctic, by the way..But getting back to The Social..Producers, whether it be CTV or CBC could easily put together an intelligent panel of Western women for a Western Social morning or afternoon talk show..We haven’t just all fallen off a turnip truck out here in Alberta, just so you know. Albertans are people too, although Justin the Younger might not recognize that..Would it be a crime to have a daily Western women’s program, truly representative of the culture and fabric of Western issues and, yes, the frivolous ones too such as … what do you think of Harry and Meghan moving to LA?.I’m OK with that. I want to be entertained, but the West is – at least for now – a part of this country..How about we balance things off for once? . .There are interesting, talented and educated women from Manitoba to the shores of Vancouver Island. The world does not reside entirely in the 416..Western musical artists, authors, social influencers, chefs displaying new food trends, movers and shakers in different sectors, travel promoters, slimy politicians — it’s endless, and it’s waiting to happen..To quote Robert F. Kennedy: “Some men see things as they are, and ask why. I dream of things that never were, and ask why not.”.I got my point across. But the CRTC is still probably not listening. I am almost sure they’re shredding my column as we speak..Dave Makichuk is a Western Standard contributor. He has worked in the media for decades, including as an editor for the Calgary Herald..makichukd@gmail.com
