Four related topics are addressed on this website.
Canadian politicians enacted legislation for medical assistance in dying (MAID) which will soon permit medical practitioners to provide lethal injections to people with mental health conditions who are otherwise healthy. “The eligibility date for persons suffering solely from a mental illness is now March 17, 2027” (Government of Canada). Consequently, it is a critically important time to try to increase understanding about mental health recovery and inspire hope.
Professor Patrick W. Corrigan was identified by Stanford University as being in the top 2% of most cited scientists in the world (IIT, March 25, 2024). He was a renowned American mental health scholar, researcher and the world-leading expert on the stigma of mental illness who passed away earlier this year.
A decade ago, Professor Corrigan sent an open letter to Justin Trudeau shortly after he became Prime Minister of Canada, addressing my experience of severe mental illness in Canada and recovery in Australia, concluding with the following assessment: “Knowledge of Mr. Mahar’s story will serve to challenge the stigma of mental illness, raise awareness of recovery, and inspire hope for people with mental health problems and their families”(Corrigan, February 22, 2016).
However, my story cannot be understood without some basic knowledge about a case of long-term systemic corruption involving the unjust enrichment of Canadian media companies and the misconduct of a number of public officials over the years at the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC): “The File 1000-121 Affair”.
Interestingly, the File 1000-121 Affair is currently relevant to Netflix, Spotify and other U.S. online streaming companies.
Five days before Professor Corrigan sent his open letter to the Canadian prime minister, I sent Mr. Trudeau an open letter along with four documents and requested that he initiate an investigation into the File 1000-121 Affair (Mahar, February 17, 2016); (Document 1); (Document 2); (Document 3); and (Document 4). Furthermore, I requested the prime minister to initiate an investigation into corruption at the CRTC. However, Mr. Trudeau did not initiate an investigation into the CRTC while he was prime minister.
To the contrary, the Trudeau government granted the CRTC substantially more statutory authority by enacting the Online Streaming Act, resulting in the CRTC ordering U.S. online streaming companies to pay 5% of their revenue generated in the country to subsidize Canadian media companies. Due to the financial implications of the File 1000-121 Affair, the CRTC is discriminating against the U.S. companies. I have notified CRTC Chair Vicky Eatrides and the other federal regulators of this fact (Mahar, January 20, 2025).
Finally, the case of long-term systemic corruption at the CRTC has been enabled by the failure of Canada’s mainstream media to effectively inform Canadians about the issue, one which has served to financially benefit Canadian media companies.
Democracy is effectively undermined by media capture.
