Fox News North can't launch because regulation against lying in the news won't be repealed

[Egbert]

There's nothing moronic about preventing people from intentionally misleading the public under the guise of public news.

What is moronic is the idea that allowing such activities is beneficial to society.

Lying varmint newspapers.

[Kuciwalker]

There's nothing moronic about preventing people from intentionally misleading the public under the guise of public news.

What is moronic is the idea that allowing such activities is beneficial to society.

What's moronic is not recognizing that a regulation against telling falsehoods inevitably becomes a regulation against telling things the public believes are false, and the latter service is totally essential to society.

[Kuciwalker]

Eh? The Charter is far easier to change than the US constitution. It's been amended a few times since the 80s. How many times has the American Constitution been amended since the 80s?

Once. The US Constitution is amended a little less often than once per decade, not counting the initial 10.

[Asher]

Not without amending your constitution. The regulation existing on the books is irrelevant if the first time it's used it will trigger an immediate and automatically successful court challenge.

It doesn't need a constitutional amendment (which isn't a big deal -- there's been ten constitutional amendments since 1983), it's a change to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

If no one amended it for Zundel why would they do so for Fox?

Are you serous? Because of this:
"Who is Zundel?"

Meanwhile, the vast majority of Canadians deeply loathe Fox News and all news channels like it. The public backlash when the CRTC said they would remove the regulation preventing false news should be ample proof Canadians are pretty passionate about it.

[Kuciwalker]

.

[Egbert]

What's moronic is not recognizing that a regulation against telling falsehoods inevitably becomes a regulation against telling things the public believes is false, and the latter service is totally essential to society.

Your assumption. A bald statement.

[Kuciwalker]

I predict that, conditional on a Canadian broadcaster distributing Fox News, any legal challenge under this provision will be overturned and your charter will not be amended in response.

[Asher]

Once. The US Constitution is amended a little less often than once per decade, not counting the initial 10.

All they need is a majority of parliament and two-thirds of the provincial legislatures to agree to it. In a case like this, it would not be hard given how much support the regulation has.

[Asher]

I predict that, conditional on a Canadian broadcaster distributing Fox News, any legal challenge under this provision will be overturned and your charter will not be amended in response.

We don't care about the American Fox News channel being carried in Canada (it is). We watch it for amusement and to make us feel better about ourselves.

What people are worried about is bringing Fox News-like channels to Canadian news coverage. Not necessarily Fox News, but if Sun TV launches and is as Fox News-like as they claim (obvious right slant, mixing opinions with fact, etc), there will be something made out of it. Especially after this ruckus.

[Asher]

What's moronic is not recognizing that a regulation against telling falsehoods inevitably becomes a regulation against telling things the public believes are false, and the latter service is totally essential to society.

I think you're blind to the evils your toxic news culture is bringing to your country. It's a shame.

People can't even rationally discuss what is right for the country. It's all partisanship, venom, and lies. It's corrupt, it's embarrassing, and it's not in the best interests of Americans.

But keep defending it in principle, it always makes you guys feel better.

[Kuciwalker]

We don't care about the American Fox News channel being carried in Canada (it is). We watch it for amusement and to make us feel better about ourselves.

What people are worried about is bringing Fox News-like channels to Canadian news coverage. Not necessarily Fox News, but if Sun TV launches and is as Fox News-like as they claim (obvious right slant, mixing opinions with fact, etc), there will be something made out of it. Especially after this ruckus.

Then I also predict that any legal challenge to any such channel will have the same result as the other I described.

[Asher]

A lot of it comes down to a difference in culture.

In the US, news is entertainment.
In Canada, the news is a source for factual information about world events.

[Kuciwalker]

I think you're blind to the evils your toxic news culture is bringing to your country. It's a shame.

People can't even rationally discuss what is right for the country. It's all partisanship, venom, and lies. It's corrupt, it's embarrassing, and it's not in the best interests of Americans.

I'm not sure where you're getting any of those ideas. I read plenty of perfectly rational discussion of American politics every day (and I mean mainstream commentators, not forums and such).

[Asher]

Then I also predict that any legal challenge to any such channel will have the same result as the other I described.

What would happen is the CRTC would enforce the regulation. Then the channel would appeal to the courts, which would take a while to process it as they always do. In the meantime, parliament (especially under Harper, which is exceptionally populist/votemongering...I'm not going to bother explaining the politics of a minority government) would propose a law giving the regulation teeth. Then the legal challenge would ultimately fail.

It's not like there's no real precedent to this. The CRTC ruled that foreign companies couldn't own telecoms in Canada. The government, seeing the will of the people, overrode the CRTC and permitted a foreign owner of a new entrant in the telecom world. A year and a half later, the courts decided the government could not do that (it already did). So what is the government doing? Passing a law to let them do it. Voila.

Canada's government is extremely populist right now.

[Asher]

I'm not sure where you're getting any of those ideas. I read plenty of perfectly rational discussion of American politics every day (and I mean mainstream commentators, not forums and such).

Yes, you are clearly the average American. Your life experiences exude Americana, don't they.