Published Tuesday, May 18, 2021 1:32PM EDT OTTAWA - Justice Minister David Lametti will be on the hot seat this afternoon as a fired-up heritage committee grills him about Bill C-10 s potential to undermine online freedom of expression. Lametti sent his deputy minister and other officials to face the all-party committee last Friday, but its members pushed for him to appear today to answer questions. Bill C-10 has become a political flashpoint, with a range of academics, columnists and other influencers alleging it gives the CRTC too much influence over what s shared through social media. The legislation will make the first major changes to the Broadcasting Act since social media platforms became a major source of individual and commercial communications.
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A new poll by Leger and the Association of Canadian Studies suggests the country is divided over plans to send athletes from Canada to the upcoming Olympic Games in Tokyo as Japan grapples with climbing COVID-19 cases.
Forty-two per cent of those surveyed said they don t think Canadian athletes should compete in the Tokyo Games delayed by a year due to the pandemic while 39 per cent said Team Canada should attend.
When asked if they think competing in the games will be safe, 46 per cent of people said no, 35 per cent said yes and 19 per cent were not sure.
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Published Friday, May 14, 2021 6:26PM EDT OTTAWA - Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault is doubling down on his controversial new broadcasting bill at a parliamentary committee hearing, citing a Justice Department analysis to reiterate the legislation would not affect free speech online. A charter impact statement from Justice officials this week found that the would-be law, known as Bill C-10, would not encroach on social-media users freedom of expression. Opposition MPs remained unsatisfied Friday, however, demanding that Justice Minister David Lametti come before the House of Commons heritage committee to clarify points of contention around the bill. Work of the committee has been stalled since Liberal MPs on the panel moved to cut a section of the legislation that expressly excluded user-generated content from regulation.
When asked if they think competing in the games will be safe, 46 per cent of people said no, 35 per cent said yes and 19 per cent were not sure.
This torn perspective of Canadians could help give government officials, who will make the final call on whether athletes indeed take part in the Games, a way out, says Leger executive vice-president Christian Bourque. Canadians are so divided, certainly not convinced it s safe for athletes, so it s as if they re saying, If we decided to go, OK, and if we decide not to go, fine, Bourque said.
He added that he was surprised by these results.