It’s a rather inauspicious date, but construction work on the Canadian Museum of Human Rights in Winnipeg is scheduled to begin April 1. There won’t be a lot of fanfare—an official groundbreaking ceremony was held just before Christmas. Heritage Minister James Moore made the trek to the frozen site at the forks of the Red and Assiniboine rivers. So did Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who paid tribute to the late Izzy Asper, the man whose audacious dream is about to become a reality. The $265-million project will be the “capstone” on the legacy of the founder of Canwest Global Communications, he said, while Gail, Asper’s daughter, proudly looked on. In creating the first national museum outside of Ottawa, the Conservative government has pledged $100 million toward construction costs, and a further $21.7 million a year in operating funds, in perpetuity. But when it comes to helping the Asper family secure its dreams, it appears the feds may still have more to give.

As Canwest, owner of 13 daily newspapers and two Canadian television networks, flirts with bankruptcy, approaching yet another make-or-break deadline with its creditors on April 7, Ottawa is readying a lifeline. Last week, Moore confirmed that the Harper government is looking at loosening broadcast regulations and changing tax rules to help give the company, and other struggling private broadcasters, some relief. And while the heritage minister was quick to add that no specific promises have been made, it’s clear what the networks have on their wish list—a reversal of CRTC policy that would see cable and satellite providers pay them “carriage fees” for the basic TV channels they now pass on for free. That arrangement would net the broadcasters an estimated $300 million a year, perhaps directly out of consumers’ pockets.

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