GUNTER: Bill C-10 will be creeping censorship – Toronto Sun

Breadcrumb Trail Links

Author of the article:

So the Trudeau government has succeeded in ramming through its internet censorship law, Bill C-10, on the eve of Parliament rising for the summer (and probably for a fall federal election).

The Liberals used some of the most ham-fisted Parliamentary tactics in the past quarter century just to make sure this bill became law before the House of Commons adjourned.

I guess thats an improvement from this time last year when the Liberals prorogued Parliament entirely for four months rather than suffer continued damage from the WE Charity scandal.

Being forced to do the Trudeau governments bidding versus being forced to shut up; take your pick.

But why employ such anti-democratic means as closure and undebated amendments to foist such anti-democratic legislation onto a nation that has shown no desire to have its internet habits so closely scrutinized (and potentially censored) by a government agency, the CRTC (the Canadian Radiotelevision and Telecommunications Commission)?

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

The short answer is that to the statist and bureaucratic minds who thought up C-10, it makes sense to restrict free speech in order to save it. Kill the patient just a little in order to save his life.

So what now?

Canadians wont notice the strong arm of government controlling their internet posting and browsing right away.

This is going to be creeping censorship death by a thousand bureaucratic edicts not online martial law.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Thats how regulators work.

The government has even given the CRTC an extra budget of nearly $4 million this year just to figure out what to do with all its newfound power to enhance Canadas social cohesion, reduce online criticism against civil servants and expunge all hatred from social media.

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Bill C-10 is a blank cheque it will take the cabinet and the regulators some time to fill in.

First, they will go after sites and providers who most Canadians will give their nodding acceptance to being reined in.

White supremacists, for instance, and anti-immigrant pages. People (and more likely organizations) that post anti-trans or anti-gay messages.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

Maybe the incels the involuntary celibates such as Alek Minassian who preach hatred (and often violence) against feminists. Minassian drove a van down the sidewalk along Torontos Yonge St. in 2018 killing 10 and injuring 16 more.

But what about the recent spate of anti-Catholic hatred online, some of which has urged vandalism and violence in retaliation for the churchs operation of residential schools?

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Here the biases of the CRTC and our progressive elites are likely to be on glaring display.

If one form of hatred rankles politically correct sensibilities, expect it to be banned. But if our elites sympathize, even a little, with other forms, expect them to get a pass under C-10.

A couple of for-instances: Our prime minister was quick to label as domestic terrorism the hit-and-run killing of a Muslim family in London, Ont., but he has yet to name as terrorists Canadians who went to Syria to join ISIS.

And when Western oilfield workers drove to Ottawa in United We Roll caravans in 2019, the most senior civil servant in the country wanted them stopped because they had called Trudeau a traitor.

Expect Bill C-10 to be unevenly applied.

But the million little affronts to free speech will begin two to five years from now when the big targets have been mostly subdued.

To justify its continued existence, the CRTC will start going after little-guy posters with backwards views or news sites that question the settled science of climate change or the wisdom of our Indigenous welfare industry or race-based federal loans to businesses owned by racialized Canadians.

Thats where the real danger of C-10 lies, in the drip-drip-drip erosion of our freedoms.

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Sign up to receive daily headline news from the Toronto SUN, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.

A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.

The next issue of The Toronto Sun Headline News will soon be in your inbox.

We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again

Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. Comments may take up to an hour for moderation before appearing on the site. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. We have enabled email notificationsyou will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings.

More:
GUNTER: Bill C-10 will be creeping censorship - Toronto Sun