Canada is notoriously protective of some of its industries, book retail ranking prominently among them. There's a long-running debate over whether to allow foreign competition in the bookselling marketplace, that being while competition is good for the consumer, it could have a negative impact on Canadian culture.

In its March 2010 Throne Speech, the Harper government showed signs that it may ease the protectionist stance on the bookselling industry and online retail behemoth Amazon.com has voiced plans to open a distribution centre north of the border. All this talk has re-ignited the old debate, and CBC Radio's Q takes a closer look.