Canada has raised the stakes in the softwood lumber dispute with the United States and has threatened to stop the flow of talented comedians south of the border. If the plan is implemented Canada would stop exporting comedians until the United States removed duties on Canadian softwood lumber. Hollywood producers are worried that without a reliable supply of Canadian comedians the American comedy industry would collapse.
The American comedy industry has long relied on Canadian comedic talent to fuel its ever growing thirst for laughter. Prime examples are the overwhelming success of Mike Meyers and the Austin Powers franchise. Also, the highest paid actor in Hollywood is Canadian comedian Jim Carey. The United States was not always so dependent on foreign comedy. In the past the United States was able to domestically produce enough comedians to fuel its entertainment industry. However, as the American entertainment industry grew and American comedic resources became harder to find a greater dependence on foreign comedy developed. This reliance of foreign comedians was first exemplified with the British comedy embargo of 1973. For years American television networks had padded late night television schedules with cheap imported British sitcoms produced by the BBC. The cheap supply of British sitcoms ended when the British government drastically cut the BBC’s budget and the quality and quantity of British sitcoms available for import was drastically cut. The result was a shortage of good late night comedy bringing about the prevalence, even today, of late night infomercials. At the time many experts predicted the end of American comedy. That is until Canadian Lorne Michaels started “Saturday Night Live” in New York City and saved the American comedy industry. During the last two decades the American entertainment industry has come to rely on foreign comedic talent and specifically Canadian talent.
Rumours are also circulating that if shutting off the supply of Canadian comedians does not result in a break in the American softwood lumber duties Canada could employ what has been referred to as “Operation Ferme la Bouche”. The plan involves invoking an obscure and controversial law left over from colonial times. The law allows the Canadian government to revoke anyone’s citizenship if that person is determined to be a “detriment or plague to Canadian culture from actions committed in a foreign country.” The person effectively becomes a persona non grata. It is rumoured that this law would be used to revoke Celine Dion’s citizenship making it impossible for her to leave the United States thereby perpetuating her reign of terror on Las Vegas and American adult contemporary fans.