How the Liberal Party is trying to control the media

Last weekend saw the conclusion of the first Liberal Party Convention in five years. Justin Trudeau gave an impressive speech, responded to the accusations of his opponent Pierre Poilievre, and then left for London for the coronation of Charles III.

But the convention was not only memorable for his speech. Delegates voted to increase government control over the media. In essence, they called on the current government to make sure that only information that can be verified by the government is allowed to be published in the media.

They called it an attempt “hold online information services accountable for the veracity of material published on their platforms and to limit publication only to material whose sources can be traced.”

Such preferences could not go unnoticed. After all, if the government were to determine which sources are reliable and which are not or not at all, what would happen to society and the media the next day?

One of the greatest achievements of Canadian democracy is that the press and the government exist in different worlds, fighting each other, proving each other righteousness with actions and words. Besides, who, if not the politicians, are trying to act in their own interests: they represent a certain opinion, a view, an angle, but not a diversity of views.

In this regard, the case of 2019 is remarkable: Justin Trudeau pressured Canada's attorney general taking advantage of his rank. “The allegations in the Globe story this morning are false,” Trudeau said. And that was it.

The Ethics Commission stated that Trudeau had indeed taken advantage of his position, as proven in a 63-page special report. The conflict was a blight on his reputation. Thanks to journalists who drew attention to this breach, the competent authorities what really happened.

But if what members of the Liberal Party voted for last weekend had been government law and public policy, it would have been over: journalists would not have been able to continue reporting because the government would not have traced the sources or verified the story.

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This is not the only case. And most disturbingly, it looks like a trend toward a gradual attempt to censor the media. Margaret Atwood called it "creeping totalitarianism."

That's what the celebrated Canadian writer said about Bill C-11, which the Liberal party managed after all to turn into law. It gives Trudeau government the power to control content, and most of the details have been left to the powerful Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC), with the rules yet to be fully described.

Of course, it is not yet known what will happen with such decisions: after all, this decision is still within the party. Nevertheless, the very shift toward restrictions on content, media rights, and access to sources is very troubling.

Justin Trudeau likes saying that he has great respect for journalism and journalists, he even has several former journalists in his government, including, for example, Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland. The prime minister himself has not yet commented on this party decision.