Hugh Mackenzie
How important is free speech to you?
I don’t mean hate speech or speech that invokes riots or insurrection. There are laws against that and rightly so. No, what I am talking about is the normal expression of opinion and ideas, whether or not it is something you agree with or want to hear. To what extent do you want government, any government, controlling what you can read or what you can say?
If, like me, you value free speech and the free expression of opinion, subject only to criminal liability as a fundamental tenet of democracy and human rights, then you had better pay close attention to Bill C-10 that the Trudeau Government is attempting to push through parliament.
Bill C-10 started out innocently enough. Its original objective was stated to ensure that digital streaming services—enjoying booming revenues from online traffic—contribute to the creation, production and promotion of Canadian content (CBC News). Fair enough, so far. Some may disagree with government dictating what its citizens should watch, but it is a legitimate role for the federal government to promote and protect Canadian culture.
To accomplish this, Bill C-10 would give the Canadian Radio and Television Commission (CRTC), a government appointed agency, the power to regulate content posted to social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, including videos.
The original Bill C-10 specifically exempted user-generated content posted to social media sites from CRTC regulation or oversight.
Again, fair enough as far as it goes, but here is the kicker. In recent days, the Trudeau Government proposed an amendment to Bill C-10 by removing the critical exemption for user-generated content, thus giving the CRTC regulatory power over content posted by individuals. When this proposal came to a parliamentary committee for debate, the Liberals, along with a few of their friends, shut it down.
Whether the government intended it or not (and they say they did not), the CRTC, without this exemption, will have the power to essentially censor freedom of expression by individual users of the internet. They would be able to regulate the posts of a growing majority of ordinary Canadians who use online services.
Even the prospect of this is totally unacceptable. Perhaps innocent-sounding at first, but with far-reaching implications. The CRTC for all intents and purposes is a government-controlled agency, in spite of its so-called arms-length status. The government appoints its members and the government determines its legislative responsibilities. The government knew exactly what it was doing when it removed this exemption from Bill C-10.
Those who are prepared to blink at this because they support the government currently in power should think again. This legislation, without an exemption, steps clearly on the right of individuals to say what they want within existing law, without oversight or regulation. One may not worry about this government abusing that, but what about the next one? Think about that.
In my view, there should be absolutely no role for government in controlling or influencing free speech beyond laws that deal with hate speech and incitement. Everything else is fair game and, frankly, none of government’s business.
That is a why I also object to subsidizing mainstream media (with the exception of pandemic issues) with government funds. As an acquaintance of mine and a former political strategist opined, to be successful, reporters learn early to go easy on the home team. All news outlets in my view, whether print, online, or television, should be entirely free of government support or influence.
And, yes, while I know I will lose some of you here, that includes, in part, the CBC. Certainly not all of it. The CBC has many facets that promote Canadian culture and deal with many issues not seen in other mainstream media. These facets of CBC deserve government financial support.
But when it comes to political news, opinion, and influence, I draw the line. The old saying, “He who pays the piper calls the tune” certainly applies here. As long as CBC political affairs are subsidized by government, we all know who the home team will be. In reality, we see it every day.
To be clear, I am not saying that the CBC should be banned from political news and commentary. I am saying they should not be subsidized by government for it. This division of their operations should compete for advertising revenue in the free market with all other media outlets, without subsidy or influence from government. And then they can say what they want. But the government should not be in a position to manipulate the media.
Bill C-10 while purporting to be all about supporting Canadian culture is also being used to give the government, through the CRTC, the ability to control a considerable aspect of freedom of expression for Canadians. This is not paranoia. This is fundamentally wrong.
I sincerely hope that all Canadians, of every political stripe, who value their civic rights will stand up and say so. We need to remember that what goes around, comes around.
If we fail to stop this now, eventually it will come along to bite us all in the butt.
Hugh Mackenzie has held elected office as a trustee on the Muskoka Board of Education, a Huntsville councillor, a District councillor, and mayor of Huntsville. He has also served as chairman of the District Muskoka and as chief of staff to former premier of Ontario, Frank Miller.
Hugh has served on a number of provincial, federal and local boards, including chair of the Ontario Health Disciplines Board, vice-chair of the Ontario Family Health Network, vice-chair of the Ontario Election Finance Commission, and board member of Roy Thomson Hall, the National Theatre School of Canada, and the Anglican Church of Canada. Locally, he has served as president of the Huntsville Rotary Club, chair of Huntsville District Memorial Hospital, chair of the Huntsville Hospital Foundation, president of Huntsville Festival of the Arts, and board member of Community Living Huntsville.
In business, Hugh Mackenzie has a background in radio and newspaper publishing. He was also a founding partner and CEO of Enterprise Canada, a national public affairs and strategic communications firm established in 1986.
Currently Hugh is president of C3 Digital Media Inc. and enjoys writing commentary for Huntsville Doppler.
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Thank you Hugh for your very well reasoned response.. I absolutely believe these things as well, particularly, the respectful bit even though I’ve been known to be a little cheeky (especially regarding you-know-who DF) but I know your HD group considers every response and comment. I appreciate you taking the time to respond. I felt it was important to overcome some objections I’ve been reading on this site.
Susan, there is a distinct and important difference between the two. Governments are elected to keep us safe, protect the vulnerable and to make our lives better. They are not elected to control what we can do or say inside the law. Just think about where that could lead. And a review of the Trudeau Government’s Budget will reveal further potential erosion of free speech buried in that document. This all has dangerous implications.
By contrast, individuals and organizations have the right to determine what is acceptable to them, again within the law. For example, you have the right to determine what is acceptable behaviour and language within your household.
Similarly Doppler has the right to determine what is appropriate dialogue for its website and these have been set out in our published guidelines. All opinions are welcome as long as they are respectful. We do not censor or edit those..Strong feelings are welcome, disagreement is welcome, but personal character assassination is not. Where something is mentioned as fact, and not as an opinion, we do check it for accuracy. For example, if someone would call you a liar, without solid evidence, we would not print that. This is a requirement for our libel and slander Insurance. We also draw the line at comments that encourage people to flout the law, most especially during this pandemic.
Thank you, Hugh Holland.
Hugh, I agree in principle with your argument. However, the social media make their money by selling information about their users to commercial and political interests. The social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, You-Tube, etc.) all use algorithms to amplify the most popular themes, regardless of whether the information is accurate, fair, harmful or not. They argue that they do not create the information, they simply distribute it. However, the algorithms in their business model clearly act to amplify and distort the messages they distribute. To quote a recent New York Times article, “When you’re in the business of maximizing engagement, you’re not interested in truth. You’re not interested in harm, divisiveness, conspiracy. In fact, those are your friends.” That is how Mark Zuckerberg got to be worth $75 billion at age 36. Like Trump, he cares only about money and that is wrong. That is free speech gone totally amuck and it was shown to be harmful to society on Januray 6, 2021. It has also spilled over to stir up some radical elements of Canadian society. We don’t need that in Canada. Somebody needs to reel it in. Who is that somebody if not the government or its legal agency?
Susan Godfrey I think I do make interesting arguments or whatever but the only one that gets to see them is the editor of doppler when they wont post them.
To be fair, Ray Vowels and Dave Stewart make an interesting argument…
If you want an attack on free speech just post something on here that doppler dose not agree with and see if it gets posted and this most likely will get censored just like most other things i post
When my son and Dave Percival who have a little sports show on 88.7 the bay complain about bill C10 on their show. You know it is wrong
Hugh is absolutely right this bill is and assault on democracy and free speech. The Federal Liberals want to introduce this bill to protect their image and to silence dissent.Trudeau and company are currently spending billions of dollars to subsidize the media and censor the internet. Sadly all this money being wasted could have been put to better use during a pandemic when every level of government is running deficits. The Canadian press are piling their unbalanced frustration onto the backs of premieres while allowing the feds inaction on so many levels to avoid scrutiny. They are failing to address all the health care deficiencies this pandemic has created. Their inaction to address these deficiencies proves that the health of this nation is still not a priority in Canada. Follow the money. Will silencing dissent on the internet improve health care across Canada? Absolutely not.
In all honesty how can subsidizing the media and censoring the internet be a spending priority at this time. Pay attention Canada your healthcare system is suffering from mismanagement and neglect at the provincial and federal level. It’s very expensive to quell dissent when your failing in so many ways and people are dying needlessly because of it.
This alone is reason they should be turffed….why can’t the leader of the CP rise to the occasion…even the CBC has figured this out…a travesty of political preference.
Very well said Hugh and thank you for highlighting and explaining some of the pitfalls Bill C-10 presents to our freedom of speech. My only complaint is that your presentation did not have any ALARMS GOING OFF, TO WAKE US ALL UP. This Bill C-10 if presented by a Conservative government would be called Dictatorial, Autocratic or Communistic and people would be right, they same descriptions should and do apply here. Without our continued right to express our opinions on Social Media we might as well start burning books( Fahrenheit 451) or start buying those wall sized TV screens for our participation in government written Soap Operas (1984). If this Bill C-10 is not stopped, Democracy as we know it today will certainly be lost. This isn’t a political concern it should be every thinking Canadian’s concern. Time for each of us to stand up for our rights as Canadian Citizens.
I totally agree.
In addition , we should know who is receiving the $600,000,000 annual press subsidy .
In terms of free speech , I have to wonder why my comments on the benefits of Ivermectin (with source documentation ) were deleted from your comment section last week.
Strikes me as the pot calling the kettle black.