Source : Toronto Star

One of the best Canadian drama series of recent times was The Eleventh Hour, which CTV yanked off the air even after it kept winning awards. And it was the title of that show that came to mind yesterday morning, when an impressive contingent of well-known (if not downright famous) Canadian actors stepped up to the podium of the Glenn Gould Studio to articulate their fears about the future of Canadian culture, especially the kind that comes through your TV set.

With less than two weeks left in the election campaign, noted Wendy Crewson, "we know very little about the parties' plans on cultural issues."

And, she might as well have added, what we do know about the views of Stephen Harper, whose party is surging toward power, is not comforting to people living in Toronto who work in the arts.

"Canadians deserve to see the parties' cultural planks before we let them lead us down a path of no return," said R.H. Thomson. "We're asking Canadians to vote for the candidates most committed to taking action to give our country a strong, vibrant and independent culture."

Crewson and Thomson were part of a team put together by ACTRA (Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists) to get its message out.

But I could not help wondering whether these fine actors had cast themselves as passengers on the Titanic, making a final desperate plea before being washed away. Wouldn't it have been smarter not to wait until the eleventh hour?

To their credit, it was a great ensemble performance. They presented compelling arguments in an informative, and sometimes entertaining, way - especially when Colin Mochrie illustrated the difference between working on U.S. television and appearing on Canadian TV.

In the U.S., he was faced with endless no-nos and restrictions about what he could say and do. But teamed with Rick Mercer on CBC, he found that anything goes, including a comedy sketch in which he had his penis caught in an elevator door.

"We have freedom in this country to say what we want," said Mochrie. "The only freedom we don't have is financial."

Consider the numbers. Dan Lett summed up the absurd imbalance by noting that Canadian networks spend $68 million on making Canadian shows - and $354 million buying the rights to simulcast American shows.

One reason, as Fiona Reid explained, is a disastrous change in CRTC regulations made in 1999 concerning Canadian drama in prime time. Prior to that there were a dozen or so hour-long Canadian series on the air in a season. Now that has dwindled to two or three.

"We have to get the teeth back in those regulations," said Reid.

Art Hindle, who once starred in the hit series E.N.G., noted that politicians like to talk about health care. "Health care should include culture," quipped Hindle, "because it's an essential element of mental health."

Other participants included Luba Goy, Sonja Smits, Miriam McDonald, Julie Stewart, Walter Alza, Cara Pifko, Wayne Robson and Karl Pruner.

ACTRA stressed three issues where it seeks commitments from candidates: New CRTC content and spending requirements for private broadcasters.

Increased and stable funding for the Canadian Television Fund, Telefilm Canada and the CBC.

Maintaining limits to foreign ownership of Canadian airwaves.

It's too bad Canadian audiences didn't have a chance to catch this performance. Considering the organizers are in show business, couldn't they have shaped this event in a way more likely to grab the spotlight, possibly inviting the public and having the event broadcast live?

It could have been a riveting piece of reality TV - even at the eleventh hour.

© The Toronto Star