I've just received a letter from British Columbia, with regards to that white supremacist fundraiser that I wrote about back in February.  It seems like I did indeed play some role in messing up their plans to raise money for Richard Kemp.

Sometimes, you have good days, and then you have really good days.  This is a really good day.

Posted by: Steve Janke at 09:17 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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British MP George Galloway has been barred from entering Canada.  This decision has been upheld by the courts.

Predictably, George Galloway has turned this into a testosterone-soaked battle of wills with Jason Kenney.

Posted by: Steve Janke at 11:57 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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In an attempt to get ahead of the story, Rocco Rossi and Steve MacKinnon have announced that the Liberal Party will not be accepting donations to the Michael Ignatieff leadership campaign fund as a way of purchasing tickets to a fundraising dinner.  Only donations to the party count.

People who have already donated to the party at their limit are out of luck.

Posted by: Steve Janke at 02:46 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Politicians raise money.  That's fine.  Leadership candidates need money to run for party leaderships.  That's also fine.

But with the recent controversy over incoming Liberal Party president Alfred Apps email to wealthy Liberal donors encouraging them to donate to Michael Ignatieff's campaign fund, a campaign in which he is the only contender, I think it's fair to ask whether Bob Rae really needs to money.

Because Bob Rae is still asking for donations for his leadership campaign that ended back in December.

Posted by: Steve Janke at 09:36 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Former Liberal MP Garth Turner is back in Halton, helping out the local Liberals raise money through the launch of his latest book, a tell-all expose of his time in Ottawa.

Is everyone certain that Michael Ignatieff is on board with this?

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Halton Lib­er­als are up in arms. Steve Sav­age, the rid­ing as­so­ci­ation pres­id­ent, wrote warmly of former MP Garth Turn­er, and sug­ges­ted that un­der Mi­chael Ig­natieff, it wasn't likely Garth Turn­er's re­place­ment would be as ef­fect­ive as Turn­er was. That promp­ted an­oth­er group of Halton Lib­er­als to make it crys­tal clear that they nev­er want to see Garth Turn­er again.

Meanwhile, squirrels are nervous.

Posted by: Steve Janke at 07:10 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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As the sole contender in the Liberal Party leadership non-race, it stands to reason that Michael Ignatieff is not going to accrue any expenses.  It matters, because it would then suggest that pleas to donate to his leadership fund constitute a cynical attempt to get around donation limits, since any surplus in the fund will flip to the Liberal Party.

So I looked over the costs of running a leadership race to try and guess what more needs to be spent.

One Liberal tried to suggest the sorts of expenses that would need to be covered, but he just confirmed what Alfred Apps and others are denying, and that is that any donations to the Michael Ignatieff leadership fund are really destined for the Liberal Party.

Really, they need to get their stories straight.

Posted by: Steve Janke at 12:07 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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The saga of Canadian television seems absurd.  While being questioned by Heritage Committee MPs on solving the crisis that has struck Canadian television, Konrad von Finckenstein explained that the problem he has with fee-for-carriage is that he has not been given "enough assurances" that the new revenue stream would be used by broadcasters to support local broadcasters.

This despite the fact that both CTVglobemedia and CanWest stated a commitment to support local stations with fee-for-carriage revenue in a written submission to the CRTC.

This despite the fact that both Ivan Fecan (CTVglobemedia) and Leonard Asper (CanWest) stated a commitment to support local stations with fee-for-carriage revenue in a hearing in front of the chairman of the CRTC.

Just what does this guy want?

Posted by: Steve Janke at 07:21 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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In an appearance before MPs, CRTC head Konrad von Finckenstein explained that he doesn't have the answer on how to save television, nor will he implement an answer that people have been trying to explain to the CRTC for years.

It is time for the government to move on this.  It looks like there is enough support within parliament to pass rule changes and bypass the CRTC.

Posted by: Steve Janke at 03:42 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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The story of Alfred Apps, the incoming president of the Liberal Party, asking dozens of high-powered and wealthy Liberal supporters to donate twice to the Liberal Party, continues to build up steam.

The media is all over it already.  And now the Commissioner of Elections Canada has been asked to look into the issue.

Posted by: Steve Janke at 03:27 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Recently I wrote about a donation tactic that the Liberals are using to maximize their fundraising.  The tactic appears legal, but the optics are lousy.  Now it seems like the Liberals are scurrying to spin the message.  This is never a good sign.

Posted by: Steve Janke at 06:30 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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In an email that was mistakenly distributed far too widely, we learn of a plan to have Liberal donors donated double the amount legally allowed.  They'll do this by donating to Michael Ignatieff's leadership fund, which is in surplus, and then transferring the surplus to the party.

This is legal, apparently.  I suppose every leadership candidate's leadership campaign funds could be used this way.

But somehow I don't think the legislation was intended to make leadership funds conduits for extra cash, not when everyone involved is told outright that the fund is no longer paying off campaign debts.

Posted by: Steve Janke at 06:36 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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I'm no expert on the subject of the economics of TV advertising, but I've written quite a few pieces recently on CanWest and the need to redesign the fee model for television.  Based on comments and emails, I think quite a few people are still not clear just how cable and satellite distribution hurts broadcasters, and why broadcasters are owed some sort of compensation.

So I'm going to try and explain how it all works.

Posted by: Steve Janke at 03:45 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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Some obscure (and rather trashy) Indian website might cause Liberal MP Ruby Dhalla even more heartburn.  Besides disparaging her political aspirations, it alleges that there is another movie in which Ruby Dhalla appears. 

Posted by: Steve Janke at 01:01 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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George Galloway, the radical British MP who praises terrorists, is being denied entry into Canada. 

Predictably, George Galloway is whining about his rights.

George Galloway has rights, of course.  They're just entirely irrelevant in this situation.

Posted by: Steve Janke at 12:32 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Charlie Smith of straight.com online is issuing a dire warning to Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Help CanWest at your peril!

Cue the ominous thunderclap.  Crash!  Boom!

It's all nonsense of course.  The truth is far more pedestrian, but also incredibly important to understand if we are to save Canadian television for the future.  Don't be distracted by the tortured imaginings of Charlie Smith and people like him.

Posted by: Steve Janke at 07:29 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I doubt it.  But in 2008, when Leonard Asper of CanWest and Ivan Fecan of CTVglobemedia put aside their differences to jointly address the CRTC on the question of carriage fees, Phil Lind of Rogers Communications dismissed their concerns on the basis that there was no need for carriage fees, since the broadcasters were profitable at the time.

Does that mean that Phil Lind will support carriage fees today?  Someone should ask him.

Posted by: Steve Janke at 02:36 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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With news that the government is looking at helping out Canada's private broadcasters, it is imperative that whatever else happens, this does not a result into a bailout for the CRTC.  The regulator needs to be held to account for its considerable level of responsibility for the situation that we find ourselves in.

Posted by: Steve Janke at 10:01 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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It would be churlish of me to point out that setting up the rules for Canadian television broadcasters such that they actually have a chance to succeed is something that ought to have been done years ago.  But better late than never, as long as it doesn't turn out to be too late.

Unfortunately, it seems like it going to be a photo finish.

Posted by: Steve Janke at 11:59 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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On the heals of the recent design upgrade, I'm also launching the mobile edition of Angry in the Great White North.  I have no idea how many mobile phone users read blogs with their phones, but providing them with a subdomain and a XHTML-MP compliant version of the website is not all that much trouble.

Posted by: Steve Janke at 05:49 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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