Building Resilience in the American Textile Industry

Canadians' perception of English television improved as audiences grew. In study after survey, Canadians stated that it was more valuable, distinct, and important to them personally. Interestingly, corporate morale improved. In 2006, only 41% were hopeful about the CBC's future; by 2010, that figure had risen to 74%The declining audiences of English TV have undoubtedly damaged Canadians' trust in the network. Unfortunately, the CBC does not report on Canadians' attitudes toward each service separately. Rather, it aggregates Canadian sentiments across all services, including the widely popular French and English radio. It is inconceivable to believe, however, that Canadians' support for English television has not faded as its audiences have fled.Pierre Poilievre's polling undoubtedly demonstrates this. That is why he focuses on the weakest and most vulnerable parts of the CBC. He has no fundraising advertisements in Quebec inviting French Canadians to donate money to defund Radio-Canada.The unfortunate truth is that Pierre Poilievre may be correct. Perhaps it's time to ditch English television. What's the sense of maintaining all of the infrastructure, manpower, and unwatched shows if no one cares? Perhaps it is time to try something new. If the CBC were a normal firm with multiple product lines, one would fail while the others would thrive, this is exactly what would be done.

The alternative to Poilievre's suggestion 

is to keep the $600 million spent on English television and not return it to the public purse. Instead, it might be used to create a digital on-demand service that includes the best Canadian documentaries, dramas, children's shows, and comedy. The shows would be streamed and available to Canadians at any time, similar to Netflix or Disney Plus.It is worth mentioning that the $600 million would result in far more than $600 million in production. The new service would presumably have access to Canadian production incentives (tax credits, the Canadian Media Fund, and coproduction treaties), which could potentially increase the amount of new money entering the system by more than a billion dollars. To put this figure into context, the total expenditure on Canadian entertainment shows in 2021 was not quite $570 millionThis would be a huge boost for Canadian TV production, especially because the private sector's investment in Canadian entertainment shows has been declining year after year for many years. It would also mark a fresh beginning for English television, potentially saving the network from irrelevance and positioning it to make a significant future contribution to Canadian culture. A huge café shuttered just around the corner from where I reside in midtown Toronto. It occupied two stores and was flanked by massive floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the street. I would go by it several times a week because it was located beneath my gym, and I would frequently see friends and neighbors through the windows, either working on laptops alone or having a coffee and a conversation for a meeting.

I don't know the specifics of the café's business 

or its problems, but an eviction notice on the door stated that the proprietors owed a couple hundred thousand in late rent. That may not take long to accumulate along Yonge Street's Summerhill segment. What the closing reminded me of was the concept of the "third place" and how the regulars who occupied it, particularly in this day of remote work, would miss it.Ray Oldenburg, an American sociologist, formalized the concept of the third place, a gathering place that is neither home nor work, in the late 1980s and 1990s. However, the concept of the third place was popularized in physical form by Howard Schultz, the president of Starbucks who drove the company to spectacular growth in the last decade and a half of the twentieth century.Schultz positioned Starbucks as an American version of the Italian espresso bar (or simply "bar" because most offer alcohol as well) that serves as a gathering spot for a variety of events in a village or city neighborhood. In Anglo-Celtic Europe, the "public house" or "local" serves the same purpose. It's your hangout spot.Churches are also third places. Gyms and sports clubs also allow for this purpose. In warmer regions, a town square is a natural area for people to congregate free of the stresses and commitments of family and job.

Despite our recent loss, my community 

still has many coffee shops. Some are closer to in-and-out Italian bars that mostly serve take-out, while others are more welcoming to laptop workers. It also has a few pubs, one of which I frequent on a weekly basis to meet folks or do some reading over a casual meal or a beer in the late afternoon.Part of the appeal of going to a location where everyone knows your name is that things largely stay the same, so when change occurs, it is acknowledged. I recently discovered a new red tap behind the bar and was thrilled to find it said "Oast House" in white lettering, so I ordered a pint of Pap's Pilsner, which is clean sipping.An oast house was a structure in wet British breweries that dried hops in kilns. The Niagara Oast House Brewers is a brewery located just outside of Niagara-on-the-Lake, founded in 2012 by three Inniskillin winery employees. It was once considered a local secret and a treat to sample their artisan beers during wine country trips. Trying the Oast pilsner brought back memories of wine excursions and the perhaps lesser-known tie between winemaking and beer.