Some advocacy groups and individuals who submitted feedback to the federal government about its proposed online harms legislation say they were surprised the government didn’t make their consultation documents public, which would have ensured concerns about a “disturbing” and “extremely problematic” plan were heard widely.
The spread of disinformation and polarization via social media is one of the biggest threats to social cohesion in Canada and the federal government needs to do more to fight it, says the head of Canada’s spy agency.
The federal government should appoint a regulator with the power to force social media companies to disclose information to help fight far-right extremism, an anti-hate group told MPs Tuesday.
Evan Balgord, executive director of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, said an ombudsperson could put more pressure on tech companies to do more to reduce online harms.
A request-for-information released this week has spilled the beans on the Liberal government’s internet censorship proposals. Labelled as “government surveillance and censorship powers,” social media giant Twitter compared Trudeau government proposals to dictatorial measures found in China, North Korea and Iran.
If the Liberals truly believed they were governing effectively, why would they seek to expand state power over the internet and attempt to narrow the bounds of debate?
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is trying to silence journalists who challenge his policies while giving special privileges to those who toe the line, an independent Canadian journalist told Fox News Channel’s Tucker Carlson Tuesday.
Ezra Levant, founder and CEO of Rebel News, said the Trudeau government has instituted a “Qualified Canadian Journalism Organization license” that gives licensed journalists tax subsidies and other favorable treatment.
“It’s not yet illegal to do journalism without the license,” Levant said, but he fears that “the worst is yet to come.”
At a press conference in Victoria, British Columbia on Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau praised the right of Canadians to protest, saying he encourages people to express their disagreements with the government.
Trudeau made the comment in response to a question from reporters following an announcement highlighting the Liberal government’s 2022 budget spending on electric vehicles and infrastructure.
In a press conference, Quebec’s Minister of Higher Education Danielle McCann stated that “(c)lassrooms are not safe spaces; they are spaces for debate.”
She added that “censorship has no place in our classrooms. It never will, and we need to protect faculty from censorship.”
“Social media companies need to do more to prevent propaganda, and to counter any form of disinformation,” Joly said at an event at the University of Toronto’s Munk School two weeks ago. The problem is “not only happening in Russia, it’s happening on new virtual battlegrounds, which are our social media companies,” she added.
To advise the Heritage Minister on regulating Canada’s internet, a panel of experts, most of them academics, has been appointed. One of the government’s internet regulation plans, alongside the online censorship bill, is to create a federal internet censorship agency.
Bill C-11, the Online Streaming Act that serves as the government’s follow-up to Bill C-10, was the subject of debate in the House of Commons yesterday as the legislation slowly makes it way through the legislative process. There are still committee hearings to come, but it is readily apparent that many of the concerns that hamstrung Bill C-10 have returned: virtually limitless jurisdictional, overbroad scope, and harmful discoverability provisions. Further, this bill has attracted mounting criticism from Canadian digital-first creators, who note that one of Canada’s biggest cultural exports could be hurt by the bill leading to millions in lost revenues.
Especially troubling:
“The policy direction has two primary goals. First, it will focus on the importance of consultation and special consideration of the needs of equity-seeking groups. Second, the direction will make clear areas where regulation is needed, as well as areas where flexibility should be exercised.”
As the pandemic continues into its third year and the Russian invasion of Ukraine now threatens democracies around the world, we need to do more to counter the growing spread of harmful misinformation and disinformation. Today, the Honourable Pablo Rodriguez, Minister of Canadian Heritage, announced the launch of a special, targeted call for proposals totalling $2.5 million to fund initiatives that help people identify misinformation and disinformation online.
What’s the biggest threat to Canadian democracy?
Horn-honking, bouncy-castling truckers? White nationalists marching with tiki torches held high?
Apparently, the popular backyard mosquito repellants ($14.99 at Canadian Tire online) are occasionally used as a racist symbol by white supremacists.
To hear the federal Liberal government and their media toadies tell it: Yes, truckers and lurking racists (backed by anonymous foreign funders and provocateurs) are seeking to undermine our institutions.
But the biggest threat isn’t even Russian nukes. It’s the Liberal government.
As CBC News reported last week, the Department of Canadian Heritage — which helps to oversee the government’s response to a rising tide of false information online — confirmed it provided more than $17,000 to Common Ground magazine through a special program of the Canada Periodical Fund intended to help publications weather the pandemic.
The B.C.-based wellness magazine has been publishing unsubstantiated claims that COVID-19 vaccines could cause cancer in children and that ivermectin — a drug used to rid livestock of parasites that is sometimes prescribed to humans — can reduce COVID-19 mortality.
The Canadian government is promising Bill C-11, which is aimed at regulating online streaming platforms, won’t hurt Canadians’ free speech.
