Groundhog Day and the Morning Show

Some mornings are like Groundhog Day, the 1993 Bill Murray comedy where he finds himself repeating the same day over and over again.


Especially when it comes to the local news.


CBC Radio’s Morning Show reported a scoop this morning.


Which is what they inferred with the use of the tag, “CBC News has learned.”


What the CBC had supposedly “learned” is that Canada is taking its fight against a European ban on seal products to “a new level.”


More specifically, federal Fisheries Minister Gail Shea is expected to announce today that Ottawa will take “formal action at the World Trade Organization over the European Union’s ban on seal products.”


But that news was first reported — by the CBC — 15 months ago.


Some mornings I’d like to introduce the radio to the groundhog’s head.

•••

As it happens, the CBC changed the seal story on its website later in the morning.


"CBC News has learned" was removed.


I don't want to pick on the CBC, which is a news leader in Newfoundland and Labrador.


But challenge is always healthy.


As for the whole WTO angle, if the federal Conservatives were that concerned about the Newfoundland seal hunt they would have disrupted free trade talks with the European Union back in May 2009.


At the time, the European Parliament voted to ban the import of seal products.


Ottawa’s reaction was that it wouldn’t allow the seal dispute to disrupt trade talks.


Scratch that — not disrupt trade talks, so much as “contaminate” them.


The Council of Canadians warned weeks ago that the Canada/EU free trade talks could lead to more foreign overfishing off our shores.


CBC Radio should "learn" more about that story.

Comments

LA said…
hopefully the EU wont make a counter-claim about the Canadian EI system acting as a non-tariff barrier in the conduct of our fisheries....i would cringe at the prospect
February 12, 2011 at 12:23 AM
NL-ExPatriate said…
The 2013 UNCLOS deadline to claim ownership and control of our continental shelf plus the slope and rise is fast approaching. We've already seen one attempt by discussing allowing the EU countries to patrol inside the 200 mile limit.
There has been mention of giving up the Flemish cap up in Senate meetings claiming it is only a sand bank. The entire grand banks is a sand bank.
In fact the Flemish cap was once an island not unlike Sable island.

We need someone other than the national parties defending our interests because under our parliamentary democracy where the provinces have no equality the fact of the matter is all of the national party MP's represent the majority of the population which lives in Ontario and Quebec.

Grand Banks is an INTERNATIONAL TRAGEDY OF THE COMMONS AT THE HANDS OF OUR TYRANNY OF THE MAJORITY PARLIAMENTARY DEMOCARY.
February 15, 2011 at 7:38 PM
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