The public debate on Bill C-10 recently took a dramatic turn after the government unexpectedly removed legal safeguards designed to ensure the CRTC would not regulate user generated content. The resulting backlash has left political columnists comparing Canada to China in censoring the Internet, opposition MPs launching petitions with promises to fight back against the bill, and Canadian Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault struggling to coherently answer questions about his own bill.
Cara Zwibel is the Director of the Fundamental Freedoms Program at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and one of Canada’s leading experts on freedom of expression. She joins the Law Bytes podcast to talk both about Bill C-10 and the free speech risks that may come from another bill that Guilbeault has been discussing that could include website blocking, a social media regulator, and mandated Internet takedowns.
The podcast can be downloaded here, accessed on YouTube, and is embedded below. Subscribe to the podcast via Apple Podcast, Google Play, Spotify or the RSS feed. Updates on the podcast on Twitter at @Lawbytespod.
Credits:
CBC News, User-Generated Content Exemption Was ‘Not Necessary’: Guilbeault
Come join the Bill C 10 book-burning celebration this Saturday on Parliament Hill. Toss your copy of the Charter of Rights on the fire and watch it burn.
Sponsored by The Liberal Party of Canada, Bell, Rogers, The CBC, ACTRA and Entertainment Lobbyists
It seems likely that the clause exempting user-provided content from the force of the bill was inserted up front before it went over to the committee for Charter review, SO THEY COULD BE SURE IT PASSED THAT REVIEW. The fact that the Charter Review identified that particular clause as being relevant to its review is telling.
Now that the Charter review has been passed the committee has decided to remove those protections, and will send it to the Commons for a vote without a further Charter review.
That’s pretty sleazy.
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