Witnesses by Jason https://flic.kr/p/4Ke3vd (CC BY-NC 2.0)

Witnesses by Jason https://flic.kr/p/4Ke3vd (CC BY-NC 2.0)

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Bill C-11 Goes Off The Rails Amid Charges of Witness Intimidation and Bullying by Government MPs

The Senate Bill C-11 hearings have provided a model for the much-needed, engaged, non-partisan inquiry that was largely missing from the House committee’s theatrics in which the government cut off debate on over 150 amendments. But this week those hearings attracted attention for another reason: serious charges of witness intimidation and bullying by government MPs, most notably Canadian Heritage Parliamentary Secretary Chris Bittle (yes, the same Bittle who last month suggested I was a racist and a bully for raising concerns about Minister Pablo Rodriguez silence over Canadian Heritage funding of an anti-semite as part of its anti-hate program).  

The Globe and Mail reported late on Tuesday night that Bittle – together with his colleague, Liberal MP Lisa Hepfner – had sent a letter to the Lobbying Commissioner to seek an investigation into the funding of Digital First Canada, a group representing digital first creators. The letter may have been shopped around to other MPs as Liberal MP Anthony Housefather has told the Globe he did not sign it. DFC’s Executive Director, Scott Benzie, had appeared before the Heritage committee months ago and Bittle used his time to focus on the organization’s funding. Leaving aside the fact that government MPs reserve these kinds of questions only for critics of Bill C-11 (there were no similar questions this week from Ms. Hepfner to the Director of Digital Content Next, whose organization supports Bill C-18 and counts Fox News among its members), the timing of Globe story was incredibly troubling. The Lobbyist Commissioner letter was apparently filed nearly two months ago and Benzie had been assured that he was compliant with the law. Yet the story was presumably leaked to coincide with Benzie’s appearance before the Senate committee last night. 

The letter and leak smacked of witness intimidation and bullying with the government seeking to undermine critics of the legislation hours before a Senate appearance. Indeed, the entire tactic felt like the policy equivalent of a SLAPP suit, which are used to intimidate and silence critics through litigation. By the end of the day, the tactic had clearly backfired on Bittle and the government. Conservative MP John Nater filed a point of privilege in the House of Commons, arguing that Bittle had attempted to intimidate a Senate witness.

I rise on a question of privilege, for which I gave notice earlier this same day, regarding the conduct of the member for St. Catharines, who attempted to intimidate Scott Benzie, a witness appearing before a committee of the Senate studying Bill C-11, an act to amend the Broadcasting Act and to make related and consequential amendments to other acts, as reported yesterday by the Globe and Mail.

While I appreciate that this attempt to intimidate relates to proceedings of a Senate committee currently studying Bill C-11, the culprit in this case is a member of the House, and that same witness appeared before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage during its deliberations on Bill C-11, an appearance where Mr. Benzie, no doubt, first established himself as an undesirable witness for the government on the merits of Bill C-11.

The government response was surprisingly muted with MP Mark Gerretsen simply asking for a couple of days to formulate a response, perhaps recognizing that defending Bittle would mean defending the indefensible.

The matter escalated further at the Senate committee, where multiple Senators raised the issue, including Senator Housakos who expressed concern with witness intimidation and Senator Don Plett, who said he was “disgusted” by what Chris Bittle had done. There were no attempts to defend Bittle at the committee. Indeed, the only real question now is whether there will be any consequences for the witness intimidation and bullying (which as noted comes on top of previous claims of racism and bullying). For the government to give this a pass would rightly be regarded by many as failing to take a stand against the very conduct it claims to want to address. Moreover, while Bittle and Hepfner placed their names on the letter, it seems virtually certain that Rodriguez’s office would have granted their approval to the complaint and likely have been the source of the leak. 

If so, it culminates a remarkable first year as Heritage Minister for Rodriguez, who has managed to:

  • Gaslight the public for months on regulating user content in Bill C-11 (which is now accepted as fact by the Senate committee)
  • Been publicly contradicted by his own CRTC chair on multiple occasions with respect to the implications of Bill C-11 for user content and regulating algorithms
  • Cut off debate on Bill C-11 and required votes on over 150 amendments without public disclosure, leading to changes opposed by creator groups
  • Lost the support of some of the government’s most reliable supporters, such as the editorial board of the Toronto Star
  • Introduced online news legislation that is being criticized by over 100 independent news publications. Rodriguez has not spoken to the bill in the House of Commons and cut off debate months ago.
  • Refused to publicly release his statement on Canadian Heritage funding an anti-semite as part of its anti-hate program

Now add to that presiding over a Parliamentary Secretary accused of engaging in witness intimidation. It is an astonishing and embarrassing record that desperately requires a reset. As the Senate hearing has demonstrated, these issues need not be overly partisan. Rather, the concerns of all Canadians should be viewed as important, not something to be ignored or bullied. It may seem like a simple ask, but thus far Rodriguez has instead preferred to battle with creators who don’t share his views and remained silent in the face of concerns regarding witness intimidation and bullying.

18 Comments

  1. Hilda van Walraven says:

    Thank you for your ongoing diligence in monitoring the progress of C-11.

  2. Tomorrow our sanctimonious PM will be preaching about the importance of Truth and Reconciliation while ignoring the lies, intimidation, and bullying committed by his MPs. His motto should be do as I say not as I do.

  3. Wood Jablomee says:

    Having had multiple privacy related interactions with this guy, I can confirm that he is a bit of an asshole.

  4. Pingback: Witness about to testify on Bill C-11? Time to break out good old Parliamentary bullying and intimidation tactics! « Quotulatiousness

  5. I don’t know why this should be a surprise to anyone; it falls in line with the way that politics operates in Canada these days. Ignore or attack the messenger if they disagree with your policies. Consultations that for the most part only invite supporters of the proposed policy; that allows the politician to say they consulted but ensures that they can get the result they want. From what I have seen all parties are guilty of this; the federal Liberals are just more obvious about it than other parties at federal or provincial levels. And then they wonder why people are getting more and more cynical towards our political system.

    • I think it’s time to put the Tories back in power. I remember the Harper government as actually taking better care of the economy and being much better at achieving their goals, albeit not always effectively.

      Let’s see if ALL the political parties are as venal, hypocritical, and greedy as our current government.

      They certainly can’t be any worse than the current crop of clowns.

  6. Won’t help, Tories can’t even do an internal election without a scandal. 🙁

    • Tories allow and encourage opinions and input from everyone, even if they oppose ideas and proposals, unlike the Liberals, who simply ignore and even punish different opinions.

  7. Pingback: Bill C-11 Goes Off The Rails Amid Charges of Witness Intimidation and Bullying by Government MPs — Torches and Pitchforks

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  9. Chris Ackerman says:

    Hack.

    Why did you only note Digital Content Next “counts Fox News among it’s members”?

    You lose so much credibility when you do things like that when other members also include the New York Times, Bloomberg, National Geographic, Politico, Slate, USA Today, Washington Post, WebMD, The Smithsonian, Harvard Business Review.

    Clown move.

  10. Kathleen Lowrey says:

    Thank you for your work here explaining what is at stake with Bill C-11 and the processes by which it is moving through the legislative process. I have found it just tremendously clarifying and helpful.

  11. Susan Wood says:

    Thank you for the update. I appreciate hearing about what is happening with Bill C-11. This is such an important bill for all Canadians, awake or not.

  12. Susan Wood says:

    Thank you , important information for all Canadians about Bill C-11. Please continue to keep us up to date.