Putting context/structure in to what I generally would consider mainstream is not moving the goalposts. It's providing clarity on my position, and the rationale that I use to underpin it -- sorta like what you were doing when you tried to frame 'mainstream' as "how many countries does it show in" in the prior post. I don't consider a show mainstream unless it's gotten enough 'buzz' to be discussed broadly in public -- the small-talk at the office test is a good measure of that, especially as only things that are office-appropriate (acceptable broadly by the public) are kosher topics in most offices. You can't exactly talk about risky stuff / niche interests without stepping on peoples feelings -- having something like an open discussion in an office of something like the Residential School system, is an HR minefield. Similarly, "porn" isn't mainstream to me, because it's not openly discussed -- even if it's shown in many countries, meeting your criteria.

Who pays matters. Would North of North be made without that cheque getting cut? If not, then its existence is dependent on USA funding/capital/investment. Cutting ties to the USA means giving up that funding. If there are businesses in Canada that are totally dependent on US money in other industries, and cutting the US ties will kill those businesses, I'd say they were effectively controlled by the US market too. That's.... sorta one of the big, primary problems with what's going on. So much of our stuff is dependent on US trade/money.

I didn't drag out some wikipedia on OSFI. I worked in the banking sector, or auditing that sector, for decades. I've literally spoken to regulators / had meetings with them. I've watched how things like mergers, subsidiaries and other connected companies are treated by regulators. But please, do tell me what your experience is in the industry, such that you know better?

Danielle Smiths antics are a symptom of the temperament of Albertans -- just like Donald Trump is a symptom of the temperament of general Americans. If you can get pissed off at America, or make generalisations about the state of current American culture based on their "loudest political clown", you can do the same with Alberta.

Did I say the country falls apart, or are you attempting to attribute words/concepts to me that are laughable, in an attempt to discredit my perfectly reasonable position? I said that Canadians don't have the same resolve, and that they'd rather maintain their current standard of living, likely to the point that they'd accept huge compromises on things like trade. Our government can't function without Windows/Microsoft and the other big tech companies -- or rather, the downgrade in functionality would be an intolerable trade off for the electorate, compared to caving on trade items -- so they'd vote in people to cave.