Bill’s C-10 & C-11. If we aren’t talking about it already, shouldn’t we be?

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
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Over the weekend, delegates to the Liberal Convention in Ottawa voted to call for more government control of the media. They actually called for the government to ensure that only information that can be verified be allowed to be published.

Among the limited number of motions voted on and adopted as official Liberal policy was a call for the government to “hold online information services accountable for the veracity of material published on their platforms and to limit publication only to material whose sources can be traced.”

Can anyone think of why having the government decide what can be published by what the government verifies as true would be a problem? As someone who has covered and reported on the Chretien, Martin, Harper and Trudeau governments plus provincial governments in Ontario and Quebec going back to 2000, I can think of plenty of reasons.

The biggest purveyors of “misinformation” are governments themselves. This isn’t a partisan statement, I’m talking about all of them wanting to put forward their own version of events while keeping the truth out of view.

“The allegations in the Globe story this morning are false,” Trudeau said on Feb. 7, 2019, in response to claims that he had pressured the attorney general of Canada to drop criminal prosecution of SNC-Lavalin.

Of course, we would eventually find out that the allegations in the Globe were true but if what Liberals’ voted for this past weekend was government law or policy, Trudeau’s declaration would have been the end of the story. Based on the Liberal policy resolution, journalists wouldn’t have been able to report further because the government would not trace the sources or verify the material.

We can point to stories such as Trudeau staying in a $6,000 hotel room, the WE Charity scandal, even the current issue of China interfering in Canada’s democracy as stories that wouldn’t be allowed to be told under this kind of policy.
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None of these are stories that the various governments wanted out there, but they are vital to the public interest. If the Liberals decide to move forward with this policy proposal, on top of the recently passed Bill C-11, say goodbye to the idea of any independent media who will hold any government to account.

It simply won’t be allowed. The rest at the link:
 

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
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Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan says the Liberal government is keen to tackle the problem of disinformation, but that will not include regulating the use of sources.

Members of the federal Liberal party approved a new resolution regarding disinformation that could venture into regulating journalistic practices, but O’Regan says the federal government would “never” implement it “on his watch.”

It calls for fighting the rise of disinformation through efforts that include holding “online information services” accountable for what they publish and barring the use of sources that cannot be traced…like a whistle blower, etc…

O’Regan says the ramifications of such a policy, particularly on freedom of the press, would not be acceptable and as such the policy is never going to happen?

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also dismissed the resolution, but there is some support within the caucus, with Toronto Liberal MP Julie Dzerowicz saying it was one of the top three resolutions she voted for the party to prioritize.

None of the 24 resolutions passed by the Liberals are binding on the government but they will form part of the official Liberal policy book for at least the next eight years….so it will never happen, but it becomes part of their policy for the next eight years.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 10, 2023.
 
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Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
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Regina, Saskatchewan
Politicians, regardless of party, are often Numero Uno on the misinformation hit list. Putting them (or their appointees) in charge of cleaning up Internet content is akin to putting drug gangs in charge of ending the opioid crisis.

Yet that is exactly what the federal Liberals have done. Two weeks ago, they succeeded in passing Bill C-11, the Online Streaming Act, which gives the government-appointed CRTC the power to have any Internet page taken down, even if its content is legal, provided the unelected commissioners believe it is harmful to Canadian values or institutions.

In recent debates over reducing public funding to the CBC, members of the Trudeau government have declared our state broadcaster to be a vital democratic and cultural institution. If the CRTC’s Internet regulators agree with that, they could well decide your Tweet slagging the Mother Corp for using $1.3 billion in taxpayer money to promote the agenda of the Liberal party is not protected free speech but rather a dart at the heart of democracy, and order it taken down.

Since stopping disinformation by foreign governments and chatbots will prove tricky, you and your Tweets could become the easier target in a campaign to control disinformation.

What makes this even worse is a resolution, passed without debate at last weekend’s Liberal national convention, urging the government to expand its power (or the CRTC’s) to forbid unnamed sources in news content.

The Liberal resolution asked the government to grant itself authority to ban stories unless all the sources can be verified. It would stop the initial revelations about many government scandals.

The SNC-Lavalin, WE Charities and China interference scandals were all, at least initially, the result of leaks and information from anonymous sources.
Just because a whistleblower does not want to be identified out of fear of reprisal doesn’t make him or her unbelievable.

Besides, as sentient adults, readers retain the right to choose who they believe and don’t believe.

However, giving government even more power to control what you read, watch and listen to would be a vastly greater threat to our democracy than misinformation. The Liberal party has shown it no longer understands the concept of free speech.
 

Tecumsehsbones

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Yet that is exactly what the federal Liberals have done. Two weeks ago, they succeeded in passing Bill C-11, the Online Streaming Act, which gives the government-appointed CRTC the power to have any Internet page taken down, even if its content is legal, provided the unelected commissioners believe it is harmful to Canadian values or institutions.
Well, been nice knowing y'all, seeing as how when it hits, there won't be time to bid adieu.
 

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
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Regina, Saskatchewan
Ok, I’m not sure if this sounds like misinformation or disinformation?

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made it clear (“Let Me be Really Really Clear…”) on Tuesday that a government led by him would not ever implement the recently passed Liberal party policy aimed at fighting disinformation online by requiring platforms to have “material whose sources can be traced.”

“Liberals, like all Canadians, are right to be worried about misinformation and disinformation and wanting to make sure that Canadians are protected from it. However, that policy is not a policy we would ever implement,” Trudeau told reporters on Parliament Hill, speaking about a non-binding policy passed at the party’s national policy convention last weekend.

The policy drew criticism leading up to and after Liberal delegates deliberated it, over concerns it would amount to government censorship and could force journalists to reveal their unnamed sources.

It was one of 24 resolutions passed, but that doesn’t mean it will become a Liberal government policy.
 

Tecumsehsbones

Hall of Fame Member
Mar 18, 2013
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Ok, I’m not sure if this sounds like misinformation or disinformation?

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made it clear (“Let Me be Really Really Clear…”) on Tuesday that a government led by him would not ever implement the recently passed Liberal party policy aimed at fighting disinformation online by requiring platforms to have “material whose sources can be traced.”

“Liberals, like all Canadians, are right to be worried about misinformation and disinformation and wanting to make sure that Canadians are protected from it. However, that policy is not a policy we would ever implement,” Trudeau told reporters on Parliament Hill, speaking about a non-binding policy passed at the party’s national policy convention last weekend.

The policy drew criticism leading up to and after Liberal delegates deliberated it, over concerns it would amount to government censorship and could force journalists to reveal their unnamed sources.

It was one of 24 resolutions passed, but that doesn’t mean it will become a Liberal government policy.
Of course. Governments just love granting themselves powers they'll never, ever use.

Just in case, y'know? Never can tell when somebody'll start honking his horn or something.
 

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
25,374
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Regina, Saskatchewan
non-binding...

doesn't mean they won't do it either.
If they don’t eventually plan on doing it, why in Hell would they make it a policy? Seriously?

“Liberals, like all Canadians, are right to be worried about misinformation and disinformation and wanting to make sure that Canadians are protected from it.
“Like all Canadians…” OK, got it. Building a bridge, We’re like you because we are all Canadians and we all must think alike.
However, that policy is not a policy we would ever implement,” Trudeau told reporters on Parliament Hill, speaking about a non-binding policy passed at the party’s national policy convention last weekend.
Binding or non-binding, why implement it as a “policy” if it’s never going to be implemented?

pol·i·cy

/ˈpäləsē/
noun
noun: policy; plural noun: policies
  1. a course or principle of action adopted or proposed by a government, party, business, or individual.
The policy drew criticism leading up to and after Liberal delegates deliberated it, over concerns it would amount to government censorship and could force journalists to reveal their unnamed sources.

It was one of 24 resolutions passed, but that doesn’t mean it will become a Liberal government policy.
Huh, how about that. That’s a relief.
They would never use the Emergency Powers Act , until they did .
Nobody ever used the Emergencies Act until Justin Trudeau did. His Father used the War Measures Act (it was the only Prime Minister to ever use it outside of wartime), and it was so controversial that it was replaced with the Emergencies Act with many more safeguards in place, so it wouldn’t be abused like it eventually was on Valentine’s Day 2022.
 
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Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
25,374
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Regina, Saskatchewan
Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) on Thursday said it will begin tests on its social media websites Facebook and Instagram that will limit some users and publishers from viewing or sharing some news content in Canada.

The test comes in response to Canada's proposed "Online News Act". Meta had, in March, warned it would end the availability of news content for Canadians on its platforms if the proposed bill was passed in its current form.

Google rolled out similar tests earlier this year blocking news content for some Canadian users as a test run for a potential response to the online news bill.
 

pgs

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Nov 29, 2008
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Meta Platforms Inc (META.O) on Thursday said it will begin tests on its social media websites Facebook and Instagram that will limit some users and publishers from viewing or sharing some news content in Canada.

The test comes in response to Canada's proposed "Online News Act". Meta had, in March, warned it would end the availability of news content for Canadians on its platforms if the proposed bill was passed in its current form.

Google rolled out similar tests earlier this year blocking news content for some Canadian users as a test run for a potential response to the online news bill.
The adults in the room will decide what you can watch and read . Today we give you a fine non confrontational read Jack and Jill for your reading pleasure . Enjoy .
 

55Mercury

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May 31, 2007
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The adults in the room will decide what you can watch and read . Today we give you a fine non confrontational read Jack and Jill for your reading pleasure . Enjoy .
yeah, but it's BlackJack and Jillteenth

Spot is now Polygon