Conservatives and Liberals keep up dispute over online legislation

The Conservatives are keeping up their battle against the government’s online legislation, with a party critic seizing on the Liberals’ own answers to combat them. The Online Streaming Act, Bill C-11 is back before the House of Commons after moving through the Senate; the Online News Act, Bill C-18, is heading to the Red Chamber. Tory Canadian Heritage critic Rachael Thomas rose in Question Period Monday to follow up on revelations that the government had requested social media platforms remove misleading news stories. She denounced it as censorship. “According to government documents that were tabled in the House of Commons, the Liberals actually pressured social media companies a total of 214 times over the period of 24 months,” she stated. “Talk about heavy-handed. Why is the government so committed to censoring speech?” The Parliamentary Secretary to the Canadian Heritage Minister, a frequent adversary of Thomas’ in committee, was quick to shoot back. “We cannot spell conspiracy without ‘CPC’. It is another day, another conspiracy theory,” Chris Bittle replied. “Once again, the Conservatives choose to abandon our creators. They stand up for big tech companies and turn their backs on our culture, but we choose to stand up for it. We believe foreign tech giants should do more for our creators. Canadians have the best stories to tell, and this is supporting hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs.” Thomas was undeterred. “There is nothing conspiratorial about a document that was tabled right here in the House of Commons that shows the government pressured social media platforms 214 times within 24 months to remove content the government simply found embarrassing or did not want the public to be aware of.” Bittle, likewise, stood his ground. “The Conservatives want to protect the status quo. They do not think foreign tech giants should stand up for our culture and pay into Canadian culture, but we disagree,” he asserted. “We believe tech giants should do more for artists, more for creators, more for our local media and more to protect our children online. We are open to criticism and we are open to changes, but we are not open to doing nothing, which is what the Conservative Party of Canada suggests.” Following Question Period, Thomas asked for an emergency debate on the matter. The Speaker ruled her request did not meet the criteria to allow for such a discussion. –Reporting by Paul Park at ppark@thewirereport.ca and editing by Jenna Cocullo at jcocullo@thewirereport.ca.

Conservatives and Liberals keep up dispute over online legislation

News | April 18, 2023

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Conservatives and Liberals keep up dispute over online legislation

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