The Liberal government's push to police the internet has met with resistance from a Toronto-area MP. Roman Baber, Conservative Civil Liberties Critic, has written to Industry Minister Mélanie Joly, demanding that she release a full, unredacted copy of a briefing note recommending the government take legal action against Canadians who publish "disinformation" on social media platforms.
The briefing note, obtained through excerpts published last week, suggests that discretion over determining what is "factually incorrect, misleading or out of context" would be borne by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED). Senior bureaucrats would be responsible for determining if laws were broken.
Baber has expressed concerns that the proposed policy would create a "chill" on free speech, and that Canadians deserve to know what legal strategies the Liberal government may implement against them. He is also asking Minister Joly to publicly reject the strategy proposed in the memo, and confirm that law-abiding Canadians should not fear speaking online or elsewhere.
Baber has accused the Liberal government of embarking on a larger assault on free expression, citing the Liberals' slate of pro-censorship legislation, including Bills C-9 and C-22. He argues that these bills dilute legal definitions to weaponize government scrutiny against ideological opponents.
Baber believes that the Liberal government is "hell-bent on continuing their agenda to regulate or abridge free speech," and that this approach is "typically on the wrong side of history." He is calling for greater transparency and accountability from the government on this issue.
