I tend to agree with most of your observations. A few comments/questions:
Canadians had a poor understanding of how their own system of government works. Every time I'm there I read a newspaper article which gets it either hopelessly confused or just plain wrong.
You mentioned this in our last exchange on this subject, I believe. I wonder if you could give me a few examples, as I'm not sure what is meant by this, beyond the general element of confusion caused recently by a number of changes in political parties at both federal and provincial levels, plus a growing interest in electoral reform.
I saw no evidence that censorship was less strict in Canada than America.
I think there is some difference in censorship with respect to adult sexuality and profanity - my partner is forever pointing out things he sees on broadcast or basic cable in Canadian TV that he says would only be shown on premium payTV channels in the US. I know that, for instance, there was very little reaction in Canada to the exposure of janet Jackson's nipple shield during some major sporting event last year, compared to fines and outrage in the press and all sorts of hoopla in the US.
There are definitely problems with censorship of sexually explicit materials being imported into Canada - and that is, unfortunately, because the last time the Import laws on porn were being revised, the Andrea Dworkin school of feminist perspectives on pornography convinced the framers of the laws and regulations that virtually all depictions of sexual activity - even those in which no women were present, as with porn for gay men, were degrading toward women. Sigh. Oddly enough, because the decisions are pretty much up to the individual Customs officer, these definitions are inconsistently applied, and seem to be used most often in denying entry to porn for gay men and lesbians, which you would think would be least likely to fit in the category of "degrading to women."
We do in fact have more censorship with respect to hate speech - and I have mixed feelings about that. I think that perhaps we may go to far, but on the other hand, I do agree that deliberately urging violence against a specific and clearly identifiable group of people should not be permitted in a civil society.
Canadians are less religious. I don't know if it's like here where politicians will avoid saying that they believe in God.
Actually, our current crop of conservatives have several politicians who do just that, and it's being received with some discomfort by most Canadians to the centre and left, as well as some primarily fiscal conservatives on the right. On the other hand, a small minority of social conservatives are very excited about being religious in public.
It's interesting to watch religion and politics intersecting right now, as the government prepares to introduce legislation legalising same-sex marriages across Canada (right now, only eight out of 13 jurisdictions permit them). It will be a free vote, although the Prime Minister has instructed cabinet to vote for the bill. The half-heartedly socialist NDP are imposing party discipline in favour of the bill, but one of his MPs is refusing to go along with it. The separatist and left-wing Bloc MPS, all from the largely Catholic province of Quebec, are almost all voting in favour (Quebec being the most progressive province on social issues, despite its nominal Catholicism), the centrist Liberals are split and waging great internal battles, and most Conservatives are voting against - although one of their leading lights, Belinda Stronach, is said to be considering voting in favour.
If I weren't so personally invested in this issue, it would be a wonderful chance to observe a very interesting and not often seen dynamic in Canadian politics. As it is, it's difficult for me to be objective.
Re: C eh N eh D eh
Canadians had a poor understanding of how their own system of government works. Every time I'm there I read a newspaper article which gets it either hopelessly confused or just plain wrong.
You mentioned this in our last exchange on this subject, I believe. I wonder if you could give me a few examples, as I'm not sure what is meant by this, beyond the general element of confusion caused recently by a number of changes in political parties at both federal and provincial levels, plus a growing interest in electoral reform.
I saw no evidence that censorship was less strict in Canada than America.
I think there is some difference in censorship with respect to adult sexuality and profanity - my partner is forever pointing out things he sees on broadcast or basic cable in Canadian TV that he says would only be shown on premium payTV channels in the US. I know that, for instance, there was very little reaction in Canada to the exposure of janet Jackson's nipple shield during some major sporting event last year, compared to fines and outrage in the press and all sorts of hoopla in the US.
There are definitely problems with censorship of sexually explicit materials being imported into Canada - and that is, unfortunately, because the last time the Import laws on porn were being revised, the Andrea Dworkin school of feminist perspectives on pornography convinced the framers of the laws and regulations that virtually all depictions of sexual activity - even those in which no women were present, as with porn for gay men, were degrading toward women. Sigh. Oddly enough, because the decisions are pretty much up to the individual Customs officer, these definitions are inconsistently applied, and seem to be used most often in denying entry to porn for gay men and lesbians, which you would think would be least likely to fit in the category of "degrading to women."
We do in fact have more censorship with respect to hate speech - and I have mixed feelings about that. I think that perhaps we may go to far, but on the other hand, I do agree that deliberately urging violence against a specific and clearly identifiable group of people should not be permitted in a civil society.
Canadians are less religious. I don't know if it's like here where politicians will avoid saying that they believe in God.
Actually, our current crop of conservatives have several politicians who do just that, and it's being received with some discomfort by most Canadians to the centre and left, as well as some primarily fiscal conservatives on the right. On the other hand, a small minority of social conservatives are very excited about being religious in public.
It's interesting to watch religion and politics intersecting right now, as the government prepares to introduce legislation legalising same-sex marriages across Canada (right now, only eight out of 13 jurisdictions permit them). It will be a free vote, although the Prime Minister has instructed cabinet to vote for the bill. The half-heartedly socialist NDP are imposing party discipline in favour of the bill, but one of his MPs is refusing to go along with it. The separatist and left-wing Bloc MPS, all from the largely Catholic province of Quebec, are almost all voting in favour (Quebec being the most progressive province on social issues, despite its nominal Catholicism), the centrist Liberals are split and waging great internal battles, and most Conservatives are voting against - although one of their leading lights, Belinda Stronach, is said to be considering voting in favour.
If I weren't so personally invested in this issue, it would be a wonderful chance to observe a very interesting and not often seen dynamic in Canadian politics. As it is, it's difficult for me to be objective.