Archive for November 29th, 2022

Roger H. Goun from Brentwood, NH, USA, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Reporter%27s_notebook_(2330323726).jpg

Who Is the Government Really Backing With Bill C-18?: Rejected Online News Outlet Amendment Tells the Story

Last week, I wrote about Liberal MP Lisa Hepfner’s comments at the Heritage committee study into Bill C-18, as she dismissed a proposed Conservative amendment by offering a misleading take on CRTC regulation of the news and stating that online news outlets are “not news.They’re not gathering news. They’re publishing opinion only.” Those comments unsurprisingly sparked anger from many online news outlets, leading to an apology from Hepfner in which she said that Bill C-18 will support digital journalists in their work. Yet a day later, the committee was back at clause-by-clause review and while Hepfner remained silent, her colleagues voted down an amendment proposed by online news services which re-affirms that action speaks louder than words.