(OTTAWA) Justin Trudeau’s Liberals will table their long-promised bill to crack down on harmful content online no later than next fall, more than a year after receiving recommendations from a group of experts.
After having avoided, on several occasions during the last months, to evoke a precise deadline, the Minister of Heritage, Pablo Rodriguez, advanced Monday by appearing in parliamentary committee.
“It won’t be further than the fall,” he said when questioned by NDP MP Peter Julian.
Mr. Rodriguez said he could not provide a more precise timeline, but indicated that Ottawa is “very advanced” and that it is for “very, very soon”.
Last July, a group of experts brought together by the federal government to advise it in the development of its bill published the latest summary of its work, thus concluding its mandate. In all, these experts met for 10 workshops during which they issued recommendations.
The Liberals have promised to crack down on harmful online content for many years. Shortly before the call of the last general election, in 2021, they introduced Bill C-36 which aimed to give tools to citizens who were victims of online hate. The initiative led by the Minister of Justice, David Lametti, immediately died on the order paper and was to be accompanied by another bill which was then under the responsibility of Steven Guilbeault, then Minister of Heritage.
This second piece of legislation was ultimately not tabled before the election campaign. However, a legislative and regulatory framework had been presented and submitted for consultation. The latter targeted five categories of content: hate speech, incitement to violence, terrorism, non-consensual sharing of intimate images and the sexual exploitation of children.