John,



After it was finally passed by the Senate without further amendments, the Liberals’ Bill C-11 became law at the end of last week.



This bill is a first step in creating a wall around the Canadian internet like the Chinese government does in China.



In the first place, there is absolutely no need for the government and the CRTC to tell platforms to modify their algorithms to promote Canadian content. Canadians can decide what they want for themselves without the government holding their hands.



But the bill is also very dangerous because of the uncertainty about the possibility that it will be used to regulate user content, whether made by independent creators, or by people like you and me posting videos on YouTube.



The Senate has no democratic legitimacy to reject a bill that the government clearly wants to adopt, but it has a crucial role to play in our parliamentary system in making sure all bills are constitutional, are clear and consistent, and do not violate Canadians’ basic rights and freedoms.



In the case of Bill C-11, it’s unfortunate that the majority of Senators caved in and voted for the bill even after the government had rejected a crucial amendment proposed by senators Julie Miville-Dechêne and Paula Simons.



This amendment was meant to clarify that the law would not be used to regulate independent creators on YouTube and other platforms, which would be a clear violation of free expression.



Minister Pablo Rodriguez has said he will issue a policy direction to the CRTC next month on how to interpret the law that will clarify that content by independent creators will not be captured by it.



Then why not make it clear in the bill itself after so many people demanded it?



Do the Liberals want to keep this option on the table for the future?



Is this a way to incrementally increase the government’s censorship powers?



Given how authoritarian the Trudeau government has become, this is likely the case.



The PPC will continue to oppose this law until it is repealed.



John, if you care about freedom of expression, please donate $10 today to help us continue this fight! <[link removed]>



Thank you,

-Max



P.S. If you have trouble finding where you can donate, you can just click this link! [link removed]



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PPC - Gatineau, QC, Canada

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