The not so Great Racism in Canada Thread

[esquire]

Originally Posted by Acajack

Another thing about the CBC is that it's a Siamese twin.

Most people in Anglo-Canada probably don't pay attention to or think about the French side of the operation, but if you kill one side you basically kill off the other too.

And while there isn't that much generalized love for the English services (aside from some of the radio I'd say), the French services are quite well-regarded in Quebec.

While the generalist TV network is now second in popularity to TVA, it's still a firm second and perhaps most importantly is seen as a cultural icon by most Québécois. There is so much essential Québécois stuff, cultural and societal, past and present, that is owed to SRC that sacking it would be unthinkable.

It's a federal political sacred cow as far as I can see, and as such in spite of the indifference/hostility towards the English services in much of the country, the anglophone side probably gets an easier ride politically than it would if the French services weren't so well-supported.

Out of curiosity, does SRC's news wing take on the same self-appointed 'crusader' role as CBC?

As an example of what I mean, since George Floyd, the local CBC constantly brings up incidents of alleged police brutality in Winnipeg. They have routinely referenced the teenage girl Eishia Hudson being shot by police. What they don't mention is the series of her terrible decisions that led up to that, including the theft of vehicles, robberies of liquor stores, driving on a car chase, ramming police cars, and refusing to stop before ultimately being shot.

Obviously the death of a young person is nothing to cheer about but I think it's fair to say there was a lot more to it than trigger-happy cops picking fights with Indigenous kids. Yet CBC doesn't really get into that... no real assessment of the impact on victims, it's just #justiceforeishia. And that approach costs them in terms of credibility.

Maybe if SRC's news operations takes a more nuanced look at complex situations, it might account for why they have a stronger following.