e-2418 (Media and telecommunications)

Petition to the Government of Canada

• Freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication, are fundamental freedoms guaranteed in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the foundation of a free and democratic society;
• On January 29, 2020, the Broadcasting and Telecommunications Legislative Review Panel (BTLR) submitted its final Report, Canada’s communications future: Time to act, to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, the Honourable Navdeep Bains, and the Minister of Heritage, the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, that contains 97 recommendations “on modernizing the legislation governing Canada’s communications sector”;
• Many of the recommendations propose that the Government of Canada regulate free speech, free expression and the free press on the internet;
• Many of the recommendations propose that the Government of Canada regulate all media content on the internet, both domestic and foreign, including audio, audiovisual and news content; broadcasters and streaming services such as Netflix, Spotify and Amazon Prime; content aggregators such as Yahoo News; and sharing platforms such as YouTube, Facebook and others; and
• These recommendations, if adopted by the Government of Canada, could lead to the largest regulation, and restriction, of free speech, free expression and the free press in Canadian history.