The good old CBC, our national public broadcaster. While it’s under constant attack from the right (for the benefit of its rival Quebecor and Sun News over French-language markets and beyond), it’s one of our only real Canadian culture outlets (when was the last time the private TV networks like Global or CTV aired a Canadian show in prime time?). In parliament and editorials on TV and radio, all you hear about the CBC is what a drain of tax payers money it is and the scary ‘1 Billion dollars’ it commands. But in reality that investment almost quadruples what it puts back into our economy and only costs Canadians $34 a year – a fraction of what other public broadcasters such as in Britain or Australia cost. Luckily the majority of Canadians favour the CBC, and it has been charging ahead into the digital realm even in the face of drastic budget cutbacks from the Harper government.
Today CBC launched its new free digital music service that allows users to listen, share and purchase Canadian music. Browsing through, I was happy to see artists from its youth/alternative online station Radio 3 – which includes up and coming Ukrainian bands sicj as Ukrainia, Lemon Bucket Orkestra, Klooch and Zirka. And for all the readers of my site, I’ve compiled a list of their songs on one convenient playlist! I hope you enjoy it 😉
For those with the specialty TV channel CBC Bold, it has picked up a show that ran multiple years on the Natives’ Â APTN network called ‘Mixed Blessings‘. It’s about a Ukrainian man marrying a Cree woman and having their families live under the same roof a-la the Brady Bunch but in Fort Mac, Alberta. The show airs a few times a day except for Tuesdays and Friday.
If you get a chance, do give these a try and let me know what you think about them in the comments 🙂
Edit: Since I’m posting about the CBC, perhaps you would like to know if any of the staff are Ukrainian… well some are!
The above picture of the varenyky done up as the CBC logo is courtesy of radio host and producer David Shumka.
If you ever watched the show Being Erica that wrapped up this winter, you’d be happy to know the lovely star Erica Karpluk is of Ukrainian descent. The show, while not currently airing on TV right now can be seen on its CBC page as well as on NetFlix (which is an awesome service that you should definitely try!).
And if you’re into cooking, the host of Best Recipes Ever, Kelly Osmond is also of Ukrainian descent. Her parents owned a Ukrainian deli and catering business in Mississauga
Last night was the finale of ‘So You Think You Can Dance Canada’ which featured 
om at four–years-old. He moved to Toronto when he was 12, and by the time he was 14, he was back in Europe studying and training in Berlin. At 19, Denys was enrolled at the prestigious arts school, Juilliard in New York City. Upon graduation, Denys continued with a Masters Program in Dance Education at New York University.