We stand for freedom

By Lethbridge Herald Opinion on May 7, 2021.

In a democracy, it is the government’s job to defend people’s right to speak freely. Yet, the federal Liberal government is doing the exact opposite.
Bill C-10-An Act to amend the Broadcasting Act and to make related and consequential amendments to other Acts – was first introduced in the House of Commons on November 3, 2020.
Originally, Conservatives were supportive of many parts of this bill because there was a common understanding the Broadcasting Act needed to be updated and modernized in order to create a level playing field between large foreign streaming services and Canadian broadcasters.
However, things took a very different turn on April 23, 2021, when the Liberals removed a section from their own bill that protected Canadians from falling under the same regulatory policies when posting content on their social media platforms.
This drastic change has drawn significant criticism from industry experts. Peter Menzies, a former commissioner of the Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission, had this to say, “It’s difficult to contemplate the levels of moral hubris, incompetence or both that would lead people to believe such an infringement of rights is justifiable.”
University of Ottawa professor, Michael Geist said, “In a free, democratic society we don’t subject basic speech to regulation in this way. Of course there are limits to what people can say, but the idea that a broadcast regulator has any role to play in basic speech is, I think, anathema to free and democratic society where freedom of expression is viewed as one of the foundational freedoms.”
For bill C-10 to become law, it has to first pass a sniff test to make sure it doesn’t violate Canadians’ Charter rights. The Justice Minister gave C-10 the green light back in November, citing Clause 3, which protected individuals’ online content from censorship.
That’s the very section the Liberals removed!
This modification fundamentally changes the legislation and dissolves the ground on which the Charter Statement stood to justify Charter compliance.
On April 30, 2021, I moved a motion at the Canadian Heritage Committee requesting a new Charter Statement from the Justice Minister based on the transformational edit to the bill. We need the Justice Minister to re-evaluate bill C-10 to determine whether it is still compliant with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
Soon after I introduced the motion, the Liberals shut down the debate.
Canadians have caught wind of this attempt at an unprecedented power grab and assault on their freedom of speech and freedom of expression. It has been encouraging to watch Canadians use their voices to defend against government control.
My Conservative colleagues and I will continue to apply pressure on this government and stand with Canadians to defend their rights. We will not allow this government to get away with this sneaky edit to bill C-10.
The deflection tactics we have seen from the minister responsible for this bill are troubling. Ten times the Heritage Minister has decried “Fake News!” in the House of Commons when questioned on his dramatically-edited bill.
Those who have criticized the Liberals’ attempt to violate Canadians’ freedom of expression, have been called “extremists.” 
On Tuesday, the minister resorted to a new low by attacking my personal beliefs and values because he didn’t like that I was asking important questions to which Canadians want answers.
It would seem the only speech the Liberals are interested in protecting is that with which they agree.
The minister has suggested the Liberals plan to continue this trend of online censorship under the cloak of protecting people from harmful speech, but it’s not the government’s job to protect people’s feelings. It is the government’s job to defend Canadians’ right to speak freely, even in instances where others may choose to be offended.
Would it be a good thing to have no hateful or harmful speech? Yes, but it should never fall into the hands of government to decide what is harmful or offensive and what must be censored.
When a government controls what people hear and see and what they can and cannot say, it creates a perfect environment for the imposition of ideological propaganda (China is a great example!). This seems to be the Liberals’ strategy, and it is something we must be on guard against.
If we restrict Canadians’ freedom of speech, their ability to communicate ideas, popular or unpopular, or criticize and question governmental authority and social trends, we are actively prohibiting our ability to move forward and progress as a society.
Only through the protection of freedom of speech and expression, and their active use, is political democracy possible.
Freedom is messy, but the alternative is soul-crushing and altogether destructive.

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