Liberals shut down debate on Invoice C-10 modification permitting regulation of social media content material

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A week ago, after the committee deleted Section 4.1, there were concerns about the law’s potential to violate Canadians’ rights to freedom of expression

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Anja Karadeglija

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April 30, 2021 • • 10 hours ago • • Read for 4 minutes • • 107 Comments Conservative MP Scott Aitchison: Conservative MP Scott Aitchison: “Freedoms in societies are not taken away in one fell swoop. They are being knocked out piece by piece, all under the guise of an important Canadian protection.” Photo by parlvu.parl.gc.ca

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Liberal MPs voted Friday to end the debate on a Conservative motion to see if an amendment to Broadcasting Act C-10 violates Charter rights.

The controversial change would allow social media content to be regulated, and critics say it is an attack on freedom of expression.

On Friday, a motion by Conservative MP Rachael Harder called on the Heritage Committee to send the amended draft bill back to the Justice Minister for an updated “Charter Declaration”.

The Charter Statements are made by the Attorney General and examine the potential impact of government law on Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The existing charter statement, which states that C-10 is “carefully tailored” to be in line with freedom of expression, specifically cited a clause that was deleted by the committee last Friday.

“The deletion of Section 4.1 from Bill C-10 fundamentally changes the legislation and eliminates the reason why the Charter Statement justifies compliance with the Charter,” said Harder. “The original charter declaration should be considered null and void.”

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Section 4.1 exempted content posted by Canadians on platforms such as YouTube from the CRTC regulation.

  1. Canadian Minister of Culture Steven Guilbeault, the champion of Bill C-10, pictured in February 2020.

    “Full attack” on freedom of expression: In the comprehensive liberal bill regulating the internet

  2. Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault.

    Ottawa’s drive to regulate video posting on YouTube and social media is known as an “attack” on freedom of expression

Conservative MP Scott Aitchison argued that the motion to “ask a liberal attorney general” to review the bill is a “very sensible compromise to ensure that as we move forward we … ensure that we do not violate it in any way Canadian basic freedom of expression. “

Liberal MPs said the committee was in the process of changing the legislation, clause by clause, and it would make no sense to subject the legislation to another review in the middle of this process.

According to the legislation, “Statutory Statements” reflect the bill at the time of its inception and are not updated, “said Liberal MP Anthony Housefather. He added that if this Charter Statement were to be updated at any time, for whatever reason, if allowed, it would only make sense at the end of the debate on the draft law, when all the amendments had been adopted, and man knew what the legislation would look like. “

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Liberal MP Julie Dabrusin proposed a motion to postpone the debate on the bill and effectively stop the discussion. The five Liberal MPs on the committee and the only NDP MP voted to end the debate. The four members of the Conservative Committee and one member of the Bloc Québécois voted against.

On Twitter after the Friday afternoon meeting, Minister of Cultural Heritage Steven Guilbeault accused the Conservatives of delaying work on the bill and “putting the interests of major foreign streamers above those of Canadian creators”.

The Liberal government has argued that it has no interest in regulating Canadians’ social media content and that the bill is about helping the culture industry by ensuring that the CTRC meets the same Canadian content requirements and requirements Traditional broadcasting can impose contributions to digital services such as Netflix.

A coalition of 40 organizations representing the cultural sector, including film, television and music, issued a press release Friday afternoon condemning the Conservative Party for “sacrificing culture on the altar of partisanship”.

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The Coalition for the Diversity of Cultural Expressions noted that Conservatives changed their stance on the issue after initially criticizing the bill for not including social media such as YouTube within its scope.

A week ago, after the committee deleted Section 4.1, there were concerns about the law’s potential to violate Canadians’ rights to freedom of expression.

Critics said this would give the Broadcasting Authority control over much of the content Canadians post online. Former CRTC Commissioner Peter Menzies said that the move “not only violates freedom of expression, it is a total attack on him and, through him, the very foundations of democracy. “

The Guilbeault office has argued that there are still adequate safeguards in place to ensure that Canadians’ rights are respected. The CRTC must abide by the charter, “and any act that violates it will be considered unconstitutional,” said press secretary Camille Gagné-Raynauld in a statement emailed.

She added that C-10 also specifically states that “it must be construed and applied in a way that is consistent with freedom of expression” and that the bill’s focus is on “professional series, films and music”.

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However, critics said it was dangerous to give the federal government authority to regulate social media content, even if the current government does not want to use that authority to regulate Canadians’ online videos.

Aitchison said on the committee that it was “very worrying that the CRTC may [they] would not, would have the ability and authority to regulate the content of individual Canadians who post on social media. “

He added, “This is the fear I have. Freedoms in societies are not taken away in one fell swoop. They are being knocked out bit by bit, all under the guise of an important protection for Canadians from the fear we should be. “

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