(OTTAWA) Bill C-11 modernizing the Broadcasting Act to include platforms like YouTube and Spotify will be sent to the Senate by MPs after a vote Thursday night.
The Bloc Québécois and the New Democratic Party (NDP) voted in favor of the response that Justin Trudeau’s government wanted to send to the Senate regarding the amendments proposed by the Upper House in December.
Earlier this month, the Liberals signaled they wanted to scrap several changes, such as one to circumscribe what type of content the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) may or may not regulate at discretion.
The senators wanted to respond in particular to the concerns of content creators who fear being limited or bullied in what they can share. The Upper House wanted to reassure several witnesses heard during the examination of the bill by specifying that the power of the CRTC, if exercised, could only target professional content and not amateur content, for example.
“We saw a way to clarify a few sentences so that people who read the bill are reassured. That counts, that too, “said independent Quebec senator Julie Miville-Dechêne three weeks ago, who had drafted one of the rejected amendments with her Alberta colleague Paula Simons.
Mme Miville-Dechêne had stressed in an interview that she supports the piece of legislation and that she does not believe that it would have a “censorship” effect or interfere with freedom of expression. In his view, this did not preclude the need for “clarifications” in the legislative text.
The Conservatives, who vigorously oppose Bill C-11, do not hesitate to make it a matter of fighting for “freedom of expression”.
On Thursday, they jumped in indignation as the Liberals rushed the vote on the response to send to the Senate.
With the support of the New Democrats, the troops of Justin Trudeau passed a “motion of closure” having the effect of shortening the debate on the question.
“Today, the government took unprecedented action to censor debate on the bill that will censor what Canadians can say and see on the internet,” Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre said during the question period. He accused liberals of taking the dystopian novel 1984 by Georges Orwell for “instruction manual”.
Government House Leader Mark Holland countered that it is precisely freedom of speech that allows “that MP to go all over the country and talk all kinds of nonsense.”
The government has maintained for months that the Conservatives are pouring into misinformation, hammering that C-11 only aims for better “discoverability” of Canadian content on platforms such as YouTube, Spotify and Disney+.
“The Conservatives have been throwing outlandish conspiracy theories on the floor of the House of Commons for hours and hours,” added NDP House Leader Peter Julian during debate on the closure motion.
The Bloc, who are pressing for the adoption of C-11 since the bill is eagerly awaited in the cultural community, did not go so far as to support the Liberals in their scheme.
“Too bad that we still come to this gag maneuver on such an important bill,” dropped their deputy Martin Champoux.
However, he blamed the Conservatives for obstructing “because they were absolutely adamant about their position”.
It remains to be seen how the Senate will respond to the House of Commons. Mr. Holland had ruled out, earlier this month, the possibility that the senators would stand up to the deputies.
“I am very confident that the Senate will accept our verdict,” he said.
Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez argued that the government found “a good compromise” by accepting certain amendments, but rejecting “those which could create a pass for some”.