Summary: The Canadian Broadcasting Policy Tradition

Review Essay
The Canadian Broadcasting Policy Tradition:
Learning from the Past, Building for the Future
Joseph F. Turcotte
York University
Broadcasting Policy in Canada. By Robert Armstrong. Toronto, ON:
University of Toronto Press, 2010. 296 pp. ISBN: 9781442610354 (pbk).

B

roadcasting has played an integral role in Canadian society for some 100 years. Early private operators have existed since the early twentieth century and, since the Canadian National Railways’ initiation of broadcasting services for passengers in 1924, communication technologies such as radio and television have been perceived as a means of fostering Canadian collective identity and protecting the sovereignty of the Canadian nation-state. This rhetoric of “technological
Broadcasting Policy in Canada is a largely descriptive book that presents historic and contemporary policy trajectory in a straightforward manner ideally suited for students, scholars, and practitioners seeking a primer on Canada’s broadcasting policy framework and is well-suited for introductory courses on the topic.
Armstrong’s historical breadth and presentation style are useful for gaining a broad understanding of Canada’s broadcasting policy tradition. Following an introductory chapter that helpfully lays out the key terms and technical specifics of broadcasting, Armstrong moves into a discussion of the historic evolution of Canadian broadcasting policy. With the Aird Commission (1928), the technical and economic
Joseph F. Turcotte is a PhD candidate and SSHRC Doctoral Fellow in the Communication &
Culture program at York University, 3012 TEL Building, 4700 Keele St., Toronto, ON M3J 1P3. Email: [e-mail] .
Canadian Journal of Communication Vol 37 (2012) 637-639
©2012 Canadian Journal of Communication
For the most part—save for analysis and criticism of political and financial influences over policymaking—
Armstrong’s treatment is narrowly focused to providing description from primarily legal and policy-oriented perspectives.
This focus works well for this broad overview of Canadian broadcasting policy and is an instructive introduction to the various issues at play. As is evident in his conclusion, Armstrong’s description of Canadian broadcasting policy is underlined with a forward-looking perspective that helps orient the discussion toward the future. By presenting the history of Canadian broadcasting policy in a comprehensive and farreaching manner, the book’s greatest strength is found in the number of questions that it raises for current and future policymaking deliberations. Issues such as corporate concentration in the broadcasting industry and ensuing ramifications for diversity of opinions and voices, regulatory “capture” of the CRTC, the role of public broadcasting and the CBC, local and community-based offerings, the bilingual and multiracial/multicultural composition of Canadian society, financing of Canadian content and