Libs, NDP, accuse Conservatives of running out the clock on C-18 clause-by-clause review

The first day of the House of Commons’ Heritage Committee’s clause-by-clause review of the Online News Act got off to a slow start after the Liberal and NDP parties accused the Conservatives of filibustering the bill. Friday, the committee voted on only three amendments to Bill C-18. The Conservatives brought up an amendment that would modify the definition of digital news intermediary, removing the reference to the legislative authority of Parliament. A digital news intermediary is currently defined in the act as “an online communications platform, including a search engine or social media service, that is subject to the legislative authority of Parliament and that makes news content produced by news outlets available to persons in Canada. It does not include an online communications platform that is a messaging service the primary purpose of which is to allow persons to communicate with each other privately.” The associate assistant deputy minister of cultural affairs at Canadian Heritage, Thomas Owen Ripley, explained to the committee that the Conservation motion would create a question of jurisdiction. “The way that the definition of digital news intermediary is currently structured, it recognizes that activity on the internet is an area of shared jurisdiction between the federal government and provincial governments. And so the key definitional concept there is online communications platform, including search engines and social media services, " Ripley said. "And it just puts down a marker that what the government is seeking to subject to this framework are those online communications platforms under the legislative authority of Parliament. So it's a question of jurisdiction." Liberal MP Chris Bittle said if it is a jurisdictional issue then the Liberals would oppose the amendment. Conservative MP Rachael Thomas spent 1.5 hours of the meeting asking Heritage staff questions regarding the Conservative motion. She was accused of wasting the committee's time and filibustering by Liberal and NDP MPs when she asked “as of right now, which political party composes the cabinet?” The committee unanimously passed a Conservative motion which further clarified that only news organizations operating in Canada have the legal right to demand bargaining with platforms. The bill as drafted already stipulates that a business is eligible if it is a “qualified Canadian journalism organization as defined in subsection 248(1) of the Income Tax Act.” Despite unanimous consent to pass the motion, Thomas demanded a recorded vote. NDP MP Peter Julian also took issue with Thomas asking Ripley questions on the implications of her own motion. “I don't understand why Ms. Thomas is filibustering her own motion. It's their own amendment, from the Conservatives. All parties are supporting it. I mean, this is a classic case of utter, utter time wasting. A filibuster that has no point,” he said. The NDP successfully passed a motion that added a new definition to the bill to define an Indigenous news outlet. An Indigenous news outlet, according to the approved amendment, must be operated by an Indigenous person and produce content for Indigenous peoples. To support the definition of indigenous news outlet a definition for indigenous peoples is included. The definition for news outlet was also amended to specify that it includes an Indigenous news outlet. Conservative MP Kevin Waugh questioned why an Indigenous news outlet had to be owned by Indigenous peoples, arguing it would exclude groups willing to work with, or fund, Indigenous peoples and stories. The NDP amendment was a response to criticism that Indigenous peoples were not well represented in the bill. Jean LaRose, president and CEO of Dadan Sivunivut – the organization which handles all of APTN’s non-television properties – including radio stations and a news service told the committee earlier this month that the bill should “ better reflect the unique place of indigenous news organizations based on Canada’s commitment to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.” He also previously told the Wire Report that the bill is “totally useless” for Indigenous peoples because the way it is being structured benefits legacy media. He said there is concern that Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Meta Platforms Inc.’s Facebook will be considered to have reached their obligations once a certain number of arrangements have been struck with the larger players. – Reporting by Jenna Cocullo at jcoculllo@thewirereport.ca and editing by Michael Lee-Murphy at mleemurphy@thewirereport.ca

Libs, NDP, accuse Conservatives of running out the clock on C-18 clause-by-clause review

News | November 18, 2022

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Libs, NDP, accuse Conservatives of running out the clock on C-18 clause-by-clause review

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