An eerie silence has met Ottawa’s plan to regulate the Internet and outlaw hurtful – not just hateful – expression
Canada’s long march towards violating Charter rights to free expression continues without any sign of political or media opposition. Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault’s campaign to suppress the Internet has now opened up on three fronts. It is no longer limited to hate speech, which is already illegal. He now promises action against words or ideas…
The goal is less about the interests of consumers and more about funnelling money to special interest groups
Were the consequences not so serious, Canada’s chaotic venture into the regulation of content on the Web might be consigned to the realm of thigh-slapping farce. The government’s goal, it was learned last week, will be to focus programming funding on the needs of ethnic, racial, language and sexual identities in a fashion so ill-defined…
Journalists eager to echo doomsday alarms about pandemic case numbers while ignoring the social devastation of lockdown policies
It has long been accepted both within and without the world of journalism that negative news trumps developments of a positive nature pretty much every time. Much may have changed in how news is delivered to people but the old cliches – “if it bleeds it leads” and “newspapers don’t report when airplanes land safely”…
The RCI controversy shows CBC’s primary purpose is the acquisition – at the expense of private broadcasters – of audiences and money
An uprising backed by former prime minister Joe Clark and actor Donald Sutherland is trying to force the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. to hit pause on its plans to dismantle Radio Canada International (RCI). If successful, the move to save CBC’s once-vaunted service that took Canada to the world will throw a wrench into the CBC’s…
Dedicated CBC radio listener that I am, it was hard to hear through the why-everyone-in-Alberta-is-going-to-die narrative that launched the national morning news throughout last week. But thanks to my heritage, I have an ear for loose change. In her fiscal update, federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland tossed a happy-hour special onto the bar of the…
Science is messy, and its bewilderment as to how to respond to Covid-19 is beginning to wear on people
News that not one but two COVID-19 vaccines have tested 95 per cent effective casts a welcome burst of light into Canada’s gloomy COVID-19 narrative, amid signs the pandemic is ripping into the nation’s social fabric. Moderna announced that its vaccine candidate proved 94.5 per cent effective in trials. Meanwhile, Pfizer and its partner BioNTech…
New powers will crush consumer freedom, tax and regulate content on the internet, stifle investment, and increase the cost of streaming subscriptions
A federal government that only a few years ago spoke brightly about innovation and embracing the 21st century has sadly lost its way. That was made apparent this week when – smuggled in on U.S. election day when it would get the least attention possible – Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault unveiled legislation giving the Canadian…
It’s a common religious philosophy. The secular world calls it the ethic of reciprocity. It’s the ultimate social no-brainer
The go-to car radio station for people of my demographic profile in Regina is Rawlco Radio, home of the John Gormley Show, The Hour of Rage and, on Sundays, replays of Montreal’s popular Roy Green Show. This is red meat programming for grumpy old guys. You know – men who look like me and who,…
The federal government is apparently preparing massive regulation of the Internet, pandering to the views of niche lobby groups
The nation’s cultural policies may soon switch from protecting Canada from foreign influences to depending on them. That’s because Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault seems determined to shift the burden of funding the nation’s cultural industries to foreign companies. The details of the new communications legislation Guilbeault’s been promising remain under wraps. But he’s strongly signalling…
When making daunting decisions, having people who have experience in industries under discussion is invaluable
Nothing has been more vital to the functioning of Canada’s economy during the COVID-19 pandemic than the Internet. Yet recent appointments to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) reveal a government oblivious to its necessity. Nirmala Naidoo, for Alberta and the Northwest Territories, and Ellen Desmond, for the Atlantic and Nunavut, were added to…
Canada’s long march towards violating Charter rights to free expression continues without any sign of political or media opposition. Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault’s campaign to suppress the Internet has now opened up on three fronts. It is no longer limited to hate speech, which is already illegal. He now promises action against words or ideas…
