Liberals shorten debate time,
bill sent back to Senate
(Ottawa) Bill C-11, which modernizes the Broadcasting Act to include platforms such as YouTube and Spotify, will be returned to the Senate by MPs after a vote on Thursday night.
The Bloc Québécois and the New Democratic Party (NDP) voted in favour of the response Justin Trudeau's government wanted to send to the Senate regarding amendments proposed by the upper chamber in December.
Earlier this month, the Liberals signaled that they wanted to rule out several changes, such as one to circumscribe what type of content the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) could and could not regulate by discretion.
In particular, the senators wanted to address the concerns of content creators who fear being limited or inhibited in what they can share. The upper chamber wished to reassure several witnesses heard during the examination of the bill by specifying that the CRTC's power, 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. It counts, that too, "said three weeks ago, the independent senator of Quebec Julie Miville-Dechêne, who had developed one of the
rejected amendments with her Alberta colleague Paula Simons.
Ms. 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 curtail 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 struggle for "freedom of speech."
On Thursday, they jumped with outrage as the Liberals rushed the vote on the response to send to the Senate.
With the support of the New Democrats, Justin Trudeau's troops passed a "closure motion" that shortened debate on the issue.
"Today, the government acted in an unprecedented way by acting to censor debate on the bill that will censor what Canadians can say and see on the Internet," said Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre during question period. He accused liberals of taking George Orwell's dystopian novel 1984 as their "instruction manual."
Government House Leader Mark Holland countered that it is precisely freedom of speech that allows "this member to go across 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 far-fetched conspiracy theories on the floor of the House of Commons for hours and hours," NDP House Leader Peter Julian said during debate on the closure motion.
The Bloc, who are pressing for the passage of Bill C-11 because the bill is eagerly awaited in the cultural community, did not go so far as to support the Liberals in their scheme.
"Too bad we still come to this gag order maneuver on such an important bill," dropped their MP Martin Champoux.
He nevertheless criticized the Conservatives for obstructing "because they were absolutely adamant about their position."
It remains to be seen how the Senate will respond in the House of Commons. Mr. Holland had ruled out earlier this month the possibility of senators standing up to MPs.
"I am very confident that the Senate will accept our verdict," he said.
Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez said the government had found "a good compromise" by accepting some amendments, but rejecting "those that could create a free pass for some."
The Bloc Québécois and the New Democratic Party (NDP) voted in favour of the response Justin Trudeau's government wanted to send to the Senate regarding amendments proposed by the upper chamber in December.
Earlier this month, the Liberals signaled that they wanted to rule out several changes, such as one to circumscribe what type of content the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) could and could not regulate by discretion.
In particular, the senators wanted to address the concerns of content creators who fear being limited or inhibited in what they can share. The upper chamber wished to reassure several witnesses heard during the examination of the bill by specifying that the CRTC's power, 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. It counts, that too, "said three weeks ago, the independent senator of Quebec Julie Miville-Dechêne, who had developed one of the
rejected amendments with her Alberta colleague Paula Simons.
Ms. 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 curtail 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 struggle for "freedom of speech."
On Thursday, they jumped with outrage as the Liberals rushed the vote on the response to send to the Senate.
With the support of the New Democrats, Justin Trudeau's troops passed a "closure motion" that shortened debate on the issue.
"Today, the government acted in an unprecedented way by acting to censor debate on the bill that will censor what Canadians can say and see on the Internet," said Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre during question period. He accused liberals of taking George Orwell's dystopian novel 1984 as their "instruction manual."
Government House Leader Mark Holland countered that it is precisely freedom of speech that allows "this member to go across 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 far-fetched conspiracy theories on the floor of the House of Commons for hours and hours," NDP House Leader Peter Julian said during debate on the closure motion.
The Bloc, who are pressing for the passage of Bill C-11 because the bill is eagerly awaited in the cultural community, did not go so far as to support the Liberals in their scheme.
"Too bad we still come to this gag order maneuver on such an important bill," dropped their MP Martin Champoux.
He nevertheless criticized the Conservatives for obstructing "because they were absolutely adamant about their position."
It remains to be seen how the Senate will respond in the House of Commons. Mr. Holland had ruled out earlier this month the possibility of senators standing up to MPs.
"I am very confident that the Senate will accept our verdict," he said.
Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez said the government had found "a good compromise" by accepting some amendments, but rejecting "those that could create a free pass for some."