What would Jean Béliveau say?

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By Dano

  • What do you feel defines “uniquely home-grown canadian content”? I just genuinely wonder about that. If the CBC is meant to be a reflection of Canadian culture I guess I would believe we need to further democratize it. And in this case, ceding partial control to the government in power seems like a step in the wrong direction. My point here I guess is that the CBC has the potential to be an invaluable resource, but is not perfect. Maybe we all need to take a more active role simply because it has such a unique power to define our country. At the end of the day who really gets to decide what programming is on the CBC? Journalism free from government influence still is problematized by the familiar divisions like class. How much does a journalism degree cost? Are those who can afford them the only one who get to decide what goes on the CBC?
  • SECONDLY. I am certainly not apologizing for the bad things Don Cherry has said about French-Canadians, Russians, women, take your pick. BUT, Hockey is part of Canada. something like 80% of the country watched the gold medal hockey game. And Don Cherry is hockey. SO instead of simply calling for the rolling head of an individual we need to look at how the game is shaped by our country and how we teach, watch, and talk about it. I love hockey so much. Shinny on Emerald Lake behind my house in Whistler this past year was some of the most fun I have ever had. Yet the game is ill and need of reform. Most glaringly, violence in hockey makes me really sad and confused. I don’t know how to fix this one either. But there are numerous points of power that need to change. Reckless violence in the NHL needs to be eliminated, for good (lookin’ at you Raffi Torres, Aaron Rome, Brad Marchad, Matt Cooke, the list goes on), young kids starting out need to be taught that life-long injury to an opponent is not worth winning the game, and the rules/equipment/refereeing needs to reflect a genuine desire to change for the better. The CBC could easily play an active role in this, and if that means Don Cherry has to go, so be it. But really, we still buy the tickets, contribute to ratings, congratulate our children on scoring or wins despite dirty play. Far better for us to look inward. I see hockey as a reflection of Canada that I feel has lost its way.

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