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Comment by ChumpGPT | Hacker News Reader

Rogers, Bell and Telus run Canada. It's why Canadians have the highest mobile rates in the world. Trudeau offered to protect them for ever during NAFTA II and let them become Canadian Media Companies protecting them from any competition insuring Canadians will have less choice and higher rates for everything and basically letting Telco's control over all media, etc.

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These companies have an oligopoly, they don’t “run Canada” by any stretch of the imagination and even by the most charitable of interpretations.

They control the media and you only hear or get their sanctioned perspective. They can sway public opinion in any direction they want. Ultimately those who control the message control the narrative. They could destroy anyone then want, even the Prime Minister.

Disclaimer: Not a conspiracy nut.

I love to hate all these companies, but no, they don't control the media. I would challenge that disclaimer.

Why do you think ChumpGPT is a “conspiracy nut”?

In a more respectful way he's probably getting at the fact that while the telecoms control a significant proportion of TV and radio there's still the CBC (owned by the government at arm's length, theoretically) and print media, which is arguably more important, that's independent.

Interestingly different from the US I would say the vast majority of Canadians I knew (including my elderly parents) get their Canadian political news from print media rather than TV (acknowledging that biases towards people who attended university and live in cities) which is more for local news if anything. Canadian TV channels are very underwhelming and have no where near the relevance of CNN or Fox News to US society. I would even modestly wager that CNN has a larger Canadian viewership than Canadian news channels.

I expect a significant amount also get it from radio which from what I recall are mostly telecom owned.

Look up the Thompson family and you will be surprised how much media one family can control.

I think he is exaggerating the internet speed and competition issues that seem to be more prevalent in Canada. I don't know if this is true anymore but a friend told me many plans have upload caps?

That part is not an exaggeration. We don't have unlimited data plans for mobile AFAIK. Anecdotally, I pay around 90$ for somewhere between 6 or 10 GB per month, and I pay extra for long distance calls. I pay through the nose for international calls (sometimes when I have to make 20-60 minutes' worth of calls to the US my monthly bill goes up to 150$). An internet connection at home (fiber op) costs 120$/month for 1.5 gbps.

But it's hard to see how that relates to "running the country".

That's a pretty crappy cell phone deal unless you're somewhere really remote. Rogers offers 75GB @ 5G and unlimited throttled with Canada-wide long distance and North America roaming for $90.

I've kept my Canadian # for posterity and I'm on a legacy plan for $50 that gets me 15GB and US-Can voice so you can definitely get cheaper ones through retention (the only way to get a good deal on wireless in Canada).

> But it's hard to see how that relates to "running the country".

Agree that's a bit much, they basically rule the CRTC (telecom regulator) which has never made an adverse decision against them to my recollection. The running joke was they had regulatory meeting at the National Golf Club in Toronto.

They do own a fair proportion of TV & radio outlets and political influence but I wouldn't call it running the country.

I haven't had time to shop around in a number of years, so I probably don't have the most competitive deal. I've carried this cell phone plan since around 2014-2015.

Is Canada still going forward with the law that USA streaming companies have to provide at least 30% domestically-sourced Canadian programming? I know EU and Australia did that. I appreciate the resistance to the continued American-ization of their cultures, but let's be honest here. I can only think of Rush, Bieber, and Kids in the Hall. Where is the rest of the 30% going to come from? It's going to be a lot of nonsense filler content that is only there to comply with some law.

edit: actually, Apple Music might be able to cover their 30% quota just with Neil Young's discography.

> I can only think of Rush, Bieber, and Kids in the Hall.

Don't forget Avril Lavigne, Drake, Gordon Lightfoot, Céline Dion, Joni Mitchell, deadmau5, The Weeknd, and Nelly Furtado.

Just off the top of my head. Interestingly enough I'd never heard of Kids in the Hall before today. But all of those are or were "Big Names" in music.

We have (protectionist, yes) media regulators (the CRTC) that are nominally arm's length from elected governments so it's not likely to change unless the Canadian public decides that this will become a major election issue. Don't hold your breath.

Yeah, I've always assumed that Canadians were overrepresented in popular culture as a consequence of Canadian content regulations.

Well we're certainly overrepresented domestically, but there are still a reasonable number of Canadian acts that are known quantities south of 49.

Off the top of my head, more recent ish bands that never really crossed the border: The Arkells, Metric, July Talk, Broken Social Scene, Billy Talent, Tegan and Sarah, and many more. These bands sell out large music venues domestically, but can't gain much cross-border traction. They basically are able to exist because of Canadian Content laws.

Oh shit, forgot about Arkells. My wife went to high school with the bass player.

Some other noteworthy ones include: Neil Young, Leonard Cohen, Bryan Adams, Barenaked Ladies and The Tragically Hip.

Of course one shouldn't forget what is perhaps Canada's greatest contribution to music: Nickelback.

> Don't forget ... Céline Dion ...

As a Canadian I was actively trying to forget that one. Thanks :(

Hi sorry can I add Norm Mac Donald to the list? Ty.

Neil Young!

Well Toronto does a lot of porn.

Well the Prime Minister himself agrees with you condescendingly saying there is no Canadian culture.

The fact that most people don't realize that a huge number of musicians and other celebs popular in the USA are Canadian isn't really a stirring argument in favor of the distinctness of Canada's culture. Our values may be distinct, and our history, but our culture? At least here in the English-speaking part of Canada, the culture is vaguely American with a lacquer of branded fandom for Tim Horton's and the NHL.

Trudeau wasn't wrong. The fact that conservatives pillory him for this rare moment of truth-telling is part of what's turned him into such a breathy-mouthed coward.

They attack him because, rightly, it was his father who set in place a series of policies that destroyed English Canada's once unique, distinctly British, culture.

But, why do I care? My parents dragged me into Canada at age six, I left as soon as I graduated. Not my country, not my problem.

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