Religion, and the CRTC’s Paternalistic Leftover
February 21, 2012 – Ray Pennings (Cardus Blog) Among the annoying foibles of our era is the tendency to forget the lessons of history. Even more annoying, however, is misusing them.
Last week, the CRTC denied a request from Crossroads Television Systems (CTS) to amend its licence. Currently, Crossroads must provide at least 20 hours a week of “balanced programming” between 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. CTS sought relief from that provision on economic grounds. It asked that its quota of “balance” be measured over the entire broadcast schedule rather than simply by prime time hours. The Commission cited its established Religious Broadcasting Policy as its supporting rationale.
A dissenting opinion by Commissioner Peter Menzies highlights how narrowly and negatively the authors of that policy interpreted the root causes of intolerance: “They appear to have . . . completely overlooked the positive role that faith organizations play in society.” Keep Reading…
