The Governor General of Canada gave out her annual "performing arts" awards this week. 35-year-old Newfoundland comedian Rick Mercer walked away with the big award of the night.

Mercer is one of those Canadian "celebrities" who has essentially run his entire career on the taxpayer's expense. He got his start doing a one-man show that was financed by a government arts council. Then he became a host on "This Hour Has 22 Minutes," a show aired and financed by the government-run CBC network. As the years went on the CBC propped him up with various other shows, none of which lasted very long. And now he gets an award from the government praising him for his contribution to Canadian arts.

In the US people mock the Oscars for being a chance for movie star to give awards to themselves. I think it's still better than government organizations creating their own celebrities and then rewarding them for their rather hollow "achievements."