Thomas named to critic portfolio for Canadian Heritage

By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on October 18, 2022.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com

Lethbridge Member of Parliament Rachael Thomas has been named Shadow Minister for Canadian Heritage and says she is excited to accept the role.

Thomas is part of what Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre announced as the inflation-busting Conservative Shadow Cabinet earlier this month.

“I accepted that opportunity with excitement, this is a file that I had interest in for quite some time,” said Thomas.

She said her interest was specifically focused on three pieces of legislation that she believes are detrimental to Canadians.

“One being Bill C-11 which is online censorship, the other being bill C-18 which has to do with news and censoring people’s access to it, and then the third is an upcoming piece of legislation which the Liberals are saying we can expect to come in the next few months and that has to do with online harms and going after people based on harm speech,” said Thomas.

She said she has always had a passion for Canadians maintaining their rights and freedoms and in particular the freedom of speech which she believes is a fundamental freedom and the most foundational one.

“If it’s not maintained, it’s impossible for all others to be upheld. So I’m passionate about defending freedom of speech, to make sure that Canadians can express and exchange ideas without the government hindering them or censoring them in anyway,” said Thomas.

She believes the bills that the Liberals are looking to bring forward will censor and hinder Canadians’ ability to exchange ideas and be able to debate freely.

“I believe that, that is dangerous to a democratic society that is wanting to function as such,” said Thomas.

She said she is excited to step into this role and as for her it is about defending the Canadian people and making sure that they are given the ability to speak freely, the ability to access information that they need to access online, that they can review whichever news source they would wish to review, and that they would have the ability to post videos that they wish to post.

“That they would have the freedom to engage, on YouTube for example the way that best suits their needs as a consumer, rather than the government getting in the way and trying to censor or control these things,” said Thomas.

She said all 37 million Canadians are subject to the privileges that are granted to them under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and therefore her job as a Member of Parliament is to defend all Canadians and make sure that those rights are protected.

Thomas added that as a member of the Shadow Cabinet, she also has other responsibilities and ways to advocate for Canadians.

“As a member of the shadow cabinet I am part of a larger team effort and that team effort is to highlight the inefficiencies and ineffective decisions being made by the current government,” said Thomas.

She said that they are hearing from Canadians again and again that they are finding it difficult to make ends meet.

“One of the big reasons for that is because the current government is driving up inflation and they are applying more taxes and so a part of my role as a shadow cabinet member is to make sure that I’m fighting for affordability for Canadians,” said Thomas.

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