Check It Out: Priorities are flipped
BY Joan Janzen
joanjanzen@yahoo.com
The joke said, “I offer my kids $500 for every A on their report card. It sends the message that education is a priority, and it costs me nothing because my kids don’t get A’s.”
The joke reminds me of a comment made on social media, “In Canada you can make movies and TV shows, but can’t visit your grandma, go skating, attend a church service, eat out, or conduct your business. Priorities are flipped.”
This was a comment posted, along with an article by the CBC about Canada’s booming TV and film sector, both in Ontario and British Columbia. CBC’s “Murdoch Mysteries” was one of the first Canadian shows to get back to work. Following Ontario’s first lockdown, the CBC was determined to find a way to continue filming.
This included apps on their phones, temperatures being taken and high-end sanitization machines. Make-up artists equipped with face shields and prescription safety glasses reported headaches were common because of the extra equipment.
The industry has been so busy that hair and make-up trailers have become difficult to obtain, and it’s been a booming time for companies offering studio space and make-up trailers. One company said they can’t build studio space fast enough.
All the restrictions pushed a producer from Sudbury to hire a mental health officer, so his crew had somewhere to vent their frustrations. The federal government created an insurance program for the industry to safeguard against any outbreak.
An independent producer in Vancouver said in the article, “COVID-19 has been very hard on our broadcasters. I know it’s been hard on the CBC. Global advertising revenues are down throughout traditional television.”
Yannick Bisson of “Murdoch Mysteries” said one thing remains the same, the need for something to watch.
It’s commendable the industry has found a way to move forward during challenging times. But shouldn’t other sectors be allowed the same opportunities?
Although the problems faced by the energy sector are not related to the pandemic, the sector is not being recognized as “essential”. Trudeau’s comments regarding the cancellation of Keystone XL and calls to shut down Enbridge’s Line 5 are not packed with a whole lot of optimism. He said “Obviously the decision on Keystone XL is a very difficult one for workers in Alberta and Saskatchewan who’ve had many difficult hits. Over the past years we have been there for them and we will continue to be there for them and I will express my concern for jobs and livelihoods in Canada, particularly in the west, directly in my conversation with the president.”
Meanwhile, throughout this nation we’re seeing people ticketed for everything from skating on an outdoor rink to attending a drive-in church service, but movies can be filmed complete with love scenes. There is no social distancing or masks while actors and actresses are filming. Canadians are becoming confused.
Will a restaurant owner, who is losing income because customers can’t sit inside and eat, be comforted by watching a touching love scene on CBC that was filmed during the pandemic? Probably not.
Contact Joan at joanjanzen@yahoo.com