The Great Debate (Canadian TV series)


The Great Debate is a Canadian television series that featured debates between pairs of panelists over a given subject. It was first shown on Global Television Network in 1974, and later broadcast by CHCH-TV from Hamilton, Ontario. The series was produced intermittently until 1983.

Format

was the host and moderator of a televised debate between two guests who argued about a given proposition. A studio audience of approximately 200 people voted for or against the proposition at the start of the program, and again at the end after the debate to gauge the influence of the debators' arguments.

Production

The Great Debate was produced by My Country Productions, co-owned by series producer Elsa Franklin and Berton.
It was one of the first series broadcast on the fledgling Global Television Network. However, the broadcaster encountered financial distress within months of its debut and owed My Country Productions $48,000. Global offered unsecured creditors such as program producers a short-term 25% payment. Berton, however, proceeded to pay guest debators personally, in full for their appearance and travel.
Global renewed The Great Debate for a second season beginning late 1974. CHCH-TV picked up The Great Debate from Global for its third, 1975-76 season, and aired these in the Tuesday 10 p.m. time slot.

Episodes

1974: first season

1974-75: second season

These episodes were listed as broadcast on Global Television, broadcast
Thursdays and repeated Sundays.
No.ResolutionIn favourOpposedOriginal air dateNotes
15 September 1974
2Bilingualism is unworkable.Jacques ParizeauGeorge Springate12 September 1974
2Canada should legalize abortion on demandHenry MorgentalerHeather Morris19 September 1974
326 September 1974
43 October 1974
510 October 1974
6Nuclear reactors are necessaryEdward TellerGordon Edwards17 October 1974
7The west should separate from Canada.Milt HarradenceRéal Caouette24 October 1974
8Playgirl magazine corrupts women.Alan Abel as "Martin Swaig, Jr."Marin Scott Milam31 October 1974Swaig was ostensibly head of the US office of media communications, Scott Milam was editor of Playgirl. However, Swaig was revealed to be satirist Alan Abel who was conducting a hoax on his opponent.
9The Nixon-Ford pardon and tapes agreement violates the US Constitution.I. F. StoneJohn McLaughlin7 November 1974
10The inflation crisis demands price and wage control.Myron SharpeDavid Lewis14 November 1974
1121 November 1974
12Women's liberation is destroying society.George GilderGermaine Greer28 November 1974
13Credit cards do more harm than good.Arthur HaileyRobert M. MacIntosh5 December 1974Hailey was an author; MacIntosh was president of the Bank of Nova Scotia
1412 December 1974
15Prostitution should be legalized19 December 1974
16Interracial marriage will benefit mankind.David SuzukiRoy Innis26 December 1974
172 January 1975
189 January 1975
19Living together before marriage is a dangerous experiment16 January 1975
20Having children should be controlled by law22 January 1975Moved to Wednesdays

1975-76: third season

These episodes are listed as broadcast on the series new flagship station, CHCH-TV, Tuesdays at 10 p.m.
No.ResolutionIn favourOpposedOriginal air dateNotes
1That Exercise is a Waste of TimeMinnesota FatsEd Allen9 September 1975
2Public service strikes should be outlawed16 September 1975
3Mercy killing is justified23 September 1975
4The Bermuda Triangle mystery defies natural explanation30 September 1975
57 October 1975
6The Bermuda Triangle mystery defies natural explanation14 October 1975Repeat of 30 September 1975
7Movies should return to the happy ending21 October 1975
8Dieting is useless28 October 1975
9Ghosts exist4 November 1975
10Modern birth control advocates are using women as guinea pigs11 November 1975
11Violence on the screen is psychologically damaging18 November 1975
12Capital punishment must be abolished25 November 1975
13Divorce cases don't belong in the courts2 December 1975
14History is bunk9 December 1975
15Zionism16 December 1975Irving Layton vs. Sam Hadaur
16The Christian religion has become inadequate23 December 1975
17Homosexuals should have full civil rights30 December 1975
187 January 1976Moved to Wednesday evenings
19Good breeding is still an asset14 January 1976
20Canadian nationalism is dangerous21 January 1976
21Intelligence is genetically inherited28 January 1976
22The 1976 Olympic Games should be abandoned4 February 1976
23Kids today have it too soft11 February 1976
24Hunting is not a sport18 February 1976
25The American dream has become a nightmare25 February 1976
26Car racing is a bloody sport3 March 1976
pre-empted10 March 1976
2717 March 1976
2824 March 1976
29Repeat of mercy killing episode31 March 1976
30Man should be master in the home7 April 1976
31There should be total gun control14 April 1976
32Repeat of Bermuda Triangle episode21 April 1976
33Repeat of Movies should return to the happy ending28 April 1976
pre-empted for movie5 May 1976

1976-77: fourth season

The series was broadcast on CHCH-TV on Fridays at 8 p.m. Topics in this season included apartheid and lotteries.

1977-83: later episodes

The following episodes are on file with Library and Archives Canada:
ResolutionIn favourOpposedOriginal air dateItem number Production date
Television is a destructive force in societyMackenzie PorterPeter Ustinov30143
Sexual offenders should be castratedWilliam Mackie Simma Holt30146
Sports is a masculine riteAbby HoffmanAlan Eagleson30144
Homosexuals should not be allowed to teachDavid Gauthier Dr John Lee 30145
Involuntary commitment of mental patients violates their rightsDr Thomas Szasz Dr Derek Miller30147
There is a need for a coaches' unionAlan EaglesonDick Beddoes30148
Traditional train power is obsoleteJulius LukasiewiczWalter Steward30149
The Pope's theology belongs to the Dark AgesDr Kathryn MorganDr Gregory Baum30151
Promiscuity in a woman is acceptable and desirableEleanor Wright PetrineJoan Sutton30152
Nuclear generating stations are necessary and should be constructedJon GilbertsonNorman Rubin30153
A North American common market would be the end of CanadaBob RaeJohn Belanger30154
Total disarmament is both possible and desirableNicolas ParissiGeoff Buerger30155
The medical establishment is inhibiting cancer researchPeter Barry ChowkaDr Emil Freireich30156
Traditional masculinity victimizes menDr Herb GoldbergGeorge Gilder30157
Teachers have the right to strikeMargaret WilsonDr Stewart Smigh30158
Strike breaking should be outlawedTerry MeagherDavid Somerville30159
The permissive society has been the worst disaster to hit democracy since HitlerSir Edwin LeatherMaryon Kantaroff30160
Modern medicine is geared for killing rather than healingDr Robert MendlesohnDr Stuart Klein30161
Newspapers should be independent of all other business interestsCharles LynchCharles Templeton30165
The West should separateElmer KnutsonJack Horner30162
Modern cults are dangerous to societyJane HawtinBart Testa30163
Literary critics are irrelevant and irresponsibleRichard RohmerLister Sinclair30164
All tobacco advertising should be bannedGarfield MahoodDon Coxe30166
Labour unions are destructive to the economyFrank OberleDesmond Morton30167
Rent controls are necessaryFrank DreaBasin Kalymon30168
Writers' sources should be privileged and protected by lawHarold HorwoodBarbara Amiel30169
Women should not marryBetty Jane WylieCatherine McKinnon30170
The family is being bombarded unnecessarily by professionalsEd ShorterDoug Barr30171
It is more rewarding to be short than tallBen WicksMichael Magee30172
Socialism holds more promise for the future than capitalismRichard JohnstonJames Taylor30173
The Bachelor of Arts degree is of no earthly use to anybodyArnold EdinboroughHarold Kaplan30174
More sex education is neededLaura SabiaKen Campbell30175
Chemical additives make food dangerousDr Ross Hume HalDr George Fleishmann30176
Movies that depict the sexual exploitation of minors should be censoredElwy YostRon Base30177
Canada needs stronger military defenseBrig Gen Steven AndrunykDr Norman Alcock30178
Human rights acts jeopardize civil liberties and human rightsGeorge JonasIan Scott30179
There is more fakery than science to para psychologyHenry GordonHoward Eisenberg30180
In the present context monetarism is bunkPaul HellyerProf Michael Parkin30181
Paid maternity leave is every woman's rightGrace HartmanLarry Solway30182
Television evangelists are dishonest and deplorableTom HarpurRev Gerald Morgan30183
Women should marry younger menAnnabelle KingSam Solecki30184
The Kent Commission proposals are a threat to freedom of the pressBill HeineTom Kent30192?
Society is overpolicedJack GemmellDavid Humphrey30185
Equal rights for women in the workforce should be lawDierdre GallagherClaire Hoy30187
Legal abortion is a woman's rightMarian EngelLaura McArthur30188
The prison system brutalizes and creates monstersDr Daniel PaitichRobert McGee30189
All children have a right to public day carePat SchultzFrank Drea30190
There should be compulsory retirementDennis BraithwaiteRoss Stevenson30191
Public taxes should go to the school of your choiceLyle McBurneyDoug Little30193
Metric conversion is mandatory madnessBob RuncimanGerry McCauley30194
Scientific evidence better supports creation than evolutionDr Walter BrownDr Peter Moens30195
Totally nude spectator sports should be bannedCarol RuddellClaire Berstein30196
Marijuana should be legalizedEdmond BrownDr Andrew Malcolm30197
Surrogate motherhood should be a rightJerald BainDr Suzanne Scorsone30198
Fear of crime is media inducedBarrie ZwickerMcKenzie Porter30199
Faith healing is a hoaxDr Howard SeidenTom Harpur30200
Modern medicine is too expensiveDr Harding Le RicheDr Mark Baltzan30201
The American political system is superior to the Canadian systemCharles TempletonWilliam Kilbourn30202
Lawyers should be allowed to advertise30203
Doctors should have the right to harvest transplant organsDr John DossetorProf William Harvey30204
Canada does not need the Guardian AngelsWilliam McCormackLisa Sliwa30205
The Western world should arm spaceNicholas StethemProf John Polanya30206
We should revive the failure system in schoolsMark HolmesDon Rutledge30207
Canada should prosecute war criminalsIrwin CotlerHarold Levy30208
National security takes precedence over personal privacyJohn StarnesAlan Borovoy30210
Canada should abandon multiculturalismRichard J NeedhamJames Fleming30211
Children's aid societies have too much powerCyril GreenlandGeorge Caldwell30212
Corporate bailouts bankrupt the economyJack CarrJames Gillies30213
Criminals should not profit from their pensKildare DobbsGeorge Jonas30214
Violence is a viable political weaponDesmond EllisMurray Thomson30215
The peace movement is a subversive forceLubor J. ZinkClarke MacDonald30216
God is not omnipotentRussel LeggeJames Olthuis30217
Homosexuals should be allowed to adopt childrenJohn LeeBlair Shaw30219
The arts must be subsidizedLister SinclairMaryon Kantaroff30220
Everyone has a right to a jobBob RaeDr John Crispo30222

Reception

During its initial month, The Great Debate gained a 3% share of the BBM television ratings, competing unfavourably to CTV which earned a 31% share for The Streets of San Francisco. By mid-1974, the show's ratings increased to 201,000 viewers from 106,000 within a three-week span.