CBC, CTV . . . you suck!!

Why do they suck, you ask? It's simple - they're an insenstive bunch of jerks.

When the 7.1 earthquake struck Haiti last year, these news agencies were "on the ground", as they put it, for weeks and we got reports hourly for weeks on end of how the recovery effort was going, how many people died and generally how tragic it was.

And certainly it was tragic. It's still tragic that there are so many people still living in tents and unsanitary conditions. The news media have not allowed us to forget the people of Haiti.

Christchurch, New Zealand, however, seems to be a whole different kettle of fish.

Last Tuesday's earthquake, the second huge quake in less than six months, has received next to no coverage from the Canadian news media. They certainly don't have anyone "on the ground" there. Is it because New Zealand is a civilized Western nation, and thus deemed perfectly capable of helping themselves? Or was all the Haiti coverage simply a result of the fact that our then-Governor General, happened to be a Haitian refugee?

NZ's former Prime Minister, Helen Clark was reported as saying that Christchurch's tragedy was on a par with Haiti's. If that's the case, where is Christchurch's coverage? Where is Christchurch's world aid. Why are Cantabrians treated as yesterday's news?

It does seem as though it's yesterday's news. There has been no coverage since Saturday, six days after the quake. I had to watch CTVNewsnet for an hour yesterday, before I finally saw a blurb on the ticker, about the death toll. Otherwise, nada.

Yes, okay, Lybia is big thing right now. A huge thing. But the tragedy is Christchurch is no less a tragedy, just because that lunatic Gadhafi is running around inciting civil war. But honestly, the past couple of days, you wouldn't think anything had happened in New Zealand a week ago.

Except this morning. When I woke up, the MooseFM news at 6 a.m., and a brief mention of the earthquake and the death toll. Stands at 148, he said. But perhaps, it was only mentioned because a couple from Grande Prairie, AB had narrowly escaped being crushed by the falling Cathedral spire? I'm glad they escaped. At least 20 other people were not so lucky.

Reading the NZ Herald website (www.nzherald.co.nz), there are a million stories of bravery, self-sacrifice, and of Kiwis banding together to help the people of Christchurch. Yes, there are also more stories of tragedy, of family members missing or killed by the quake. But overall, Cantabrians are getting on with the task of rescue, clean-up and putting their beloved city back together.

Does the world news media care? I think not. Except, perhaps, for the BBC.

Take the University of Canterbury (my alma mater) - for example. The students put up a website, looking for a few volunteers to help clean up the liquefaction . . . the UC Student Army, now has 18,000 students throughout the city, cleaning up the mess. 

Does this not warrant recognition? They'd probably say they're just doing what needs to be done - but I think it's fabulous.

Come on Canada, pull your head out of your ass and take a look at the things that are going on in Christchurch. The tragic and the positive. Surely a fellow Commonwealth country deserves news coverage just as much as a raving Lybian lunatic does? 

If you take a look on the NZ Herald website, there are links for international donations to help the victims of the quake, as well as a plethora of stories about the quake.

And at 4:51 p.m. MST, I urge my fellow Canadians and Kiwis abroad to take 2 mins, to stand in silence, to remember the victims of Tuesday's earthquake in Christchurch.