Digital Home Thoughts: When Having a .ca Domain is not Enough

"Internet retailer Amazon.com has smashed up against Canadian pride in its efforts to open a distribution center in Canada, as booksellers grumble that it can't understand the role of Canadian culture."

In Canada, we take our media very seriously. We are so serious about it that for decades, we have implemented and enforced Canadian content regulations across various industries. If you are a radio or television station in Canada, a certain percentage of what you air must be labelled as Canadian. What gets labelled Canadian is up for debate as there are these long and winding specifications. What it all comes down to is that we have this protectionist gig going on here and the Canadian Booksellers' Association suports it. In a way, I can understand their position. I am a proud Canadian and I like to see Canadians get top billing in Canada. But on the other hand, I cannot shake the feeling that Canadian Content is an artificially inflated industry. I would like to think that what we Canadians come up with is so good that it will survive in an open market. Of course, there are a huge amount of other factors such as economies of scale and production dollars, but I like to believe that at least at this stage, Canadian products can stand on their own.