My Tax Dollars at Work

Dun-dun-dun-dundun...

To outsiders of my fair country, the prevalent belief is that our national anthem is O Canada! While this is, perhaps, technically and politically correct, I'd wager that perhaps the iconic theme to Hockey Night in Canada is more loved.

And now, it's no longer the theme to Hockey Night in Canada.

CBC has for years been trying to settle a lawsuit with Dolores Claman. For 40 years it has been played every Saturday night during hockey season across the country. Dolores got paid per play as the composer. She wasn't happy a few years ago when the CBC started selling it as a ringtone and using it internationally. She sued, CBC fought, and now the contract has run out. On Friday, CBC announced it was launching a nationwide search for a new theme. Canadians were outraged. Imagine if "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" suddenly wasn't allowed to be played anymore... now multiply by that by the hearts of a nation.

Today it came to light that CBC was asking for a mediator in their negotiations for the rights to the song. Maybe a weekend of reflection made them realize how monumentally idiotic they were being for not paying whatever the hell the composer was asking for. This is our national broadcaster, and they have two shows anybody knows about - The National (the news), and Hockey Night in Canada. Okay, there's The Mercer Report too, but that doesn't come close in ratings.

And just now, CTV, private broadcaster and arch-rival to CBC, has announced... THEY HAVE BOUGHT THE RIGHTS! What a smack in the face to the CBC and HNIC fans. It's brilliant in the pure capitalism of the deal. They should play it before every show, always.