Mr. Speaker, this week, for the first time ever, Canadian MBA teams took to the courts to the great delight of their fans across the country. How ironic that at the same time as we are welcoming the MBA to Canada we are closing the door on North America's largest sports magazine, Sports Illustrated .
Essentially the government has said that Sports Illustrated cannot be allowed split runs in Canada because SI is too efficient in its production and too effective in attracting readers and therefore advertisers. By all means let us not encourage that; we do not want people to go around thinking it is all right to be efficient and successful.
By shutting Sports Illustrated out of Canada the government is taking a 200-year leap back in time. While other Canadian communications technologies compete head to head with companies from around the world, the magazine publishing industry in Canada has adopted the views of communist Bulgaria.
Sadly Canadian magazines will be the big losers in this policy. If advertisers cannot reach their market in magazines they will do so in other media that do not respect laws issued by sentimental Canadian regulators who pine for the good old days before the telegraph.