What if a law was created in Ottawa that blocks our ability to get information? What if it worked subtly and was put into terms that we may not understand until the law or act takes effect? What if I then told you it is happening while you are sitting there reading this blog post? If you read the news you may have seen headlines about how Google and Facebook are going to block Canadian News Media from their websites. Many of us think it is simply because Google and Facebook do not want to share the revenue with the Canadian News Group Facebook and Google did pull the deal off the table after Bill C-18 was introduced. In a Globe Mail article, they talk about how the deal was on the table so they could get and protect their content from poachers and misuse. The Liberal Government claimed that the legislation was need to so that the Internet Giant would be forced to pay for Canadian content. The government protects information that is valuable to Canadians so funds like an excellent idea until it becomes difficult to find who is standing for what we believe when it comes time to vote or cast a ballot for something critical to our way of life. Before C-18 the sources for information were murky at best but we had multiple sources to compare and contrast so we could decide what is accurate and make a choice based on our way of life. This is how democracy should work many sources create a clear and we have some transparency. With the new Bill, the government may have to be transparent and can hide information that we need. This legislation may not be aimed at the Internet Giants in the way it is being introduced to us. The government may be trying to create an environment where election officials control the stories and can finally control our reactions. This Bill. may not be about protecting Canadian content it may be about controlling the narrative so we won't know we can speak out and tell elected officials when we don't like what they are doing. Think about this is Bill C-18 protecting our way of democracy?
https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/csj-sjc/pl/charter-charte/c18_1.html