NP View: Trudeau’s era of censorship is over

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By adjourning Parliament on Monday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau killed one of his favorites: Bill C-63, also known as the Internet Harms Act.

There is no excuse for suspending democracy at a time like this, but we should at least celebrate the death of this terrible law. He had this (or two bills that the Liberals they were going to replace him) was passed, the Canadian Human Rights Commission would be appointed sheriff of the Canadian Internet, which would allow it to drag anyone through a lengthy court process that would result in online comments being viewed as hateful. Worse still, anyone who reports malicious comments to the Court will be able to remain anonymous, which would make it easy to weaponize the trial.

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The bill would also add a “hate crime” to the criminal code with a maximum penalty of life in prison – which is little comfort when the line between malicious comments and criminal hatred remains dangerously blurry. Moreover, it would push social media giants under the thumb of a new digital security bureaucracy, again expanding the government while creating greater costs for third-party companies operating in Canada.

His death marks the end of an era in Canada. Liberals will no longer introduce legislation that manipulates the Internet. This. Is. This. Mark this on your calendar as the moment Internet freedom returns.

Most of this story has not been positive. During the midlife crisis years, the government realized the power it could have over online media. And – to the Canadians’ dismay – he gained a significant advantage.

After a long campaign started in 2020as 2023 progresses, a beachhead of internet disruption has been established Bill C-11the Internet Streaming Act, which brought digital streamers under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).

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The bill gave the CRTC the government’s blessing to impose Canadian content requirements on streaming giants as well some form of diversity requirements — similar to these superimposed on CBC not too long ago. It also allowed the CRTC to cut its Canadian revenues.

Despite much opposition they faced, liberals fast bill by parliament.

Now the government is not only preparing to tell streaming companies what to produce and how to spend their budgets, but it is also making these services more expensive. (The fate of the CRTC commission is currently in dispute legal limbo as streamers are currently challenging them in the courts, but some subscription prices have already been raised to reflect these costs).

Liberals wanted more control. They poured millions of dollars into the dystopian city Narrative Change Fundto give Canadian viewers access to more media featuring their favorite groups. Even more millions went into the bag projects which was intended to combat disinformation and hatred on the Internet.

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To finally put an end to this, in February last year, the government decided to appoint the chief censor submission C-63 — and it failed.

The culture is changing, so it’s unlikely these efforts will be renewed any time soon. Just look at the private sector. The pattern of censorship for one’s own sake got old quickly during the Covid pandemic, which caused the reach of social media accounts criticizing lockdowns will mysteriously sink, as well as blocking access to many users who had the audacity to question the ability of the Covid-19 vaccine to prevent infection. When it emerged that lockdowns and vaccine effectiveness were not as robust as once thought, there was outrage.

This is how it was with any controversial issue back then: unfavorable news about President Joe Biden’s son was strangled; those who did not believe in a transgender identity were allowed to have their own accounts frozen or even prohibited.

By 2022, Elon Musk has gone even further I’m buying Twitterpromising an end to this absurd censorship – and now, in 2025, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg following in his footsteps. The consensus in Silicon Valley is shifting towards telling people what to think, and it’s about time. The US government shouldn’t interfere either – although the Biden administration does they were happy to have state agents by taking over the base of social media giants, President-elect Trump is more interested in reducing the number of state agents.

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Canada is not far behind.

The future of the Internet is comments, both malicious and nice. This will require adults to be masters of their online experiences, without the bubble wrap of government and social media authorities, but it is a burden we are willing to shoulder. We don’t need the government digging into our feeds and getting human rights tribunals to decide which comments go too far. We need them to be completely silent.

Finally, the Liberal government is now on palliative care, closely following C-63 to its grave. Without any hope, the new government will burn down C-11 and the ant colony with internet damage grants designed to invent problems where there are none.

The zeitgeist is long past its Liberal-style suppression. Silencing your opponents by spreading hate will no longer work. It’s over, censorship supporters. The era of freedom of speech has come.

National Post Office

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