Juno News - Mark Carney doubles down on Trudeau's internet censorship

00:00:00.000 While on the campaign trail, Liberal leader Mark Carney has doubled down on internet

00:00:09.120 censorship programs introduced by his predecessor, former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

00:00:14.160 A global organization representing Sikhs put out a list of demands for federal parties

00:00:18.840 this election which includes preferential immigration and faith-based waivers for

00:00:22.720 workplace safety requirements. Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet has blasted

00:00:28.000 Mark Carney for not caring about Quebec. Hello Canada, it's Monday, April 14th,

00:00:32.640 and this is the True North Daily Brief. I'm Isaac Lamoureux. And I'm Noah Jarvis.

00:00:36.800 We've got you covered with all the news you need to know.

00:00:39.680 Let's discuss the top stories of the day and the True North exclusives you won't hear anywhere else.

00:00:48.720 Before pausing his campaign amid renewed controversy over his ties to China,

00:00:53.680 Liberal leader Mark Carney hinted that the Liberals may not be finished with online

00:00:57.920 censorship legislation. Speaking at a rally in Hamilton, Ontario on Thursday,

00:01:02.800 Carney addressed a recently announced series of measures. Many of the measures are already

00:01:07.200 enshrined in Canadian law, but one new proposal would introduce legislation aimed at protecting

00:01:12.000 children from online exploitation and sextortion. Carney said, quote,

00:01:16.240 One of the measures is with respect to really just the sea of misogyny, anti-semitism, hatred,

00:01:21.360 conspiracy theories, this sort of pollution that's online that washes over our virtual border from

00:01:26.480 the United States. The more serious thing is when it affects how people behave, when Canadians are

00:01:31.600 threatened going into their community centers or their places of worship or their school or,

00:01:35.680 God forbid, when it affects our children. The pledge comes despite the failure of two previous

00:01:40.640 liberal attempts, Bill C-36 and Bill C-63, to legislate internet regulation. Both bills died on

00:01:47.040 the order paper before becoming law, with Bill C-36 lapsing ahead of the 2021 federal election and Bill

00:01:53.360 C-63 halted due to the 2025 prorogation of parliament. Carney pledged to take action on, quote,

00:02:00.000 American giants if elected prime minister following the federal election on April 28th. The Liberals

00:02:05.040 previously introduced the Online News Act, which led to Meta, the parent company of Facebook and

00:02:10.240 Instagram, blocking Canadian news in response to the bill. To this day, the block remains in place.

00:02:16.320 Before proroguing parliament to conduct their party leadership race, the Liberals caved to demands to

00:02:21.680 split up the Online Harms Act. The sections of the bill dealing with child pornography and child sexual

00:02:26.560 exploitation were set to proceed as their own bill. The provisions dealing with hate crime and online

00:02:31.360 speech would be their own bill as well. Splitting the bill did not stop civil liberties advocates from

00:02:36.240 raising the alarm. Critics, including the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, warned the bill would

00:02:41.520 allow government-appointed officials to act as judge, jury and executioner. So Noah, what were the most

00:02:48.000 controversial aspects of liberal internet censorship legislation? Well, the Liberal government has made

00:02:54.000 it a effort to regulate the internet through several pieces of legislation. Their first successful

00:03:00.320 attempt at regulating the internet was Bill C-11, which controversially allowed the government to regulate

00:03:07.760 the algorithms of the different platforms like YouTube, Netflix, Spotify, to push quote-unquote

00:03:15.360 Canadian content. But really, this would allow the government to push and demote certain content that

00:03:23.440 they deemed to be Canadian or not Canadian based on the values of the government. So many critics argued

00:03:31.520 that this amounted to government censorship and government promotion of certain content over others

00:03:38.000 and an unnecessary and intrusive measure to regulate what Canadians can and cannot say based on what the

00:03:45.840 government wants them to see. There was also Bill C-18, which mandated that platforms like Facebook and Google

00:03:53.040 pay news companies for the privilege of allowing their posts to be shared on their platforms. It was

00:04:00.480 a strange piece of legislation which argued that platforms like Google and Facebook, whenever a link is

00:04:06.560 posted on their platforms, that this is somehow taking revenue away from news companies instead of allowing

00:04:15.520 users of their platforms to see the content through the posting of the link. And so Facebook,

00:04:22.240 Meta, they had blocked the posting of Canadian news content on their platforms, that being Facebook,

00:04:29.840 Instagram, and other Meta platforms. And this resulted in news companies like ourselves not being able to

00:04:36.880 post news links on these websites for Canadians. And many critics of the legislation have argued that this

00:04:44.240 has caused a steep drop in revenues for news companies which have relied on Facebook to get out their

00:04:51.760 stories. In the last session of Parliament, the Liberals tabled Bill C-63, which would seek to

00:05:00.800 basically regulate quote-unquote hate speech online, whatever the government deemed to be hate speech. And

00:05:08.160 people would have the opportunity to bring complaints forward to Human Rights Tribunal. And those who would be,

00:05:15.360 you know, convicted of these quote-unquote speech crimes would face long and long sentences in prison

00:05:24.400 potentially, and hefty, hefty fines. So a lot of Canadians are really concerned at the government's

00:05:30.960 attempt at regulating what they see online and what they are allowed to say online. And as someone who,

00:05:37.680 and as Canadians are increasingly concerned that the government has intruded on free speech rights,

00:05:44.160 with the breaking up of the Freedom Convoy and other attempts to silence dissent, Canadians are

00:05:49.760 concerned about their free speech rights, which are guaranteed in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

00:05:54.480 Now, the government has argued that this is justifiable under Section 1 of the Constitution, but

00:06:00.880 Section 1 does not give the government a free pass to regulate whatever they want to. Free speech

00:06:08.560 rights need to be minimally impaired, and constitutional scholars and other constitutional advocates have

00:06:16.000 levied this criticism at the government. So it remains to be seen if Mark Carney would retable a new

00:06:22.880 version of Bill C-63, whether it would be with the same wording as it had been previously,

00:06:31.200 and it remains to be seen if the Carney government, if they are elected in a few weeks, if they would have

00:06:38.480 an easy or hard time getting this passed through Parliament, because if they only win a minority government,

00:06:43.840 the Conservatives, Blocs Québécois, and depending on how strong the NDP caucus would be,

00:06:49.120 they could lobby against this bill and have it defeated in Parliament. However, if they form a majority

00:06:56.160 government, there will be no stopping the Carney government in passing any internet

00:07:00.560 censorship legislation that they deem to be necessary.

00:07:06.960 The World Sikh Organization published a federal election strategy demanding that federal leaders

00:07:11.760 give preferential treatment to Sikhs when it comes to workplace requirements and immigration.

00:07:16.080 The guide requests special treatment and religious exemptions for Sikh workers to be exempted from

00:07:20.960 wearing respirators and hardhats in workplaces where such equipment is mandated for safety. The WSO

00:07:27.600 argues that current safety gear can conflict with religious attire for Sikh men like their turbans

00:07:32.880 and beards and want federal backing for an innovation fund to create alternative protective equipment

00:07:38.720 that aligns with Sikh beliefs. Canada's occupational health and safety regulations currently apply

00:07:44.000 uniformly across industries regardless of religious affiliation treating everyone equally. In addition,

00:07:50.320 the WSO is calling for a simplified path to permanent residency for international students, many of

00:07:55.680 whom come to Canada on temporary study permits with the intention to work and gain permanent residency.

00:08:01.120 The organization also demands mental health funding specifically allocated to the Sikh community,

00:08:05.600 though Canada's healthcare system generally prioritizes the needs based on individual medical

00:08:11.040 conditions rather than ethnicity or religion. The list of demands comes as political parties seek support

00:08:16.720 from various communities in the lead-up to the federal election. While community engagement and

00:08:21.120 identity politics are a regular feature of Canadian politics, no major party has formally responded to

00:08:26.480 the list. Currently, the Sikh community in Canada is the largest community of Sikhs anywhere in the world

00:08:31.120 outside of India, with around 800,000 adherents in the country. So Isaac, historically, have Sikhs in Canada

00:08:37.360 received any special exemptions when it comes to workplace requirements?

00:08:41.360 Yeah, Noah, they have. And actually taking it back to before you and I were born, former Prime Minister

00:08:46.160 Brian Mulroney announced various changes to the RCMP dress code in March 1990, including the freedom to

00:08:53.440 have beards and wear turbans for Sikhs. This wasn't the first time the RCMP dress code had been altered,

00:08:59.200 though. In 1974, skirts and women's heels were permitted to accommodate female officers. And this change,

00:09:05.920 of course, the one for Sikhs, caused much debate. And by 1996, after many legal challenges,

00:09:11.920 the Canadian Human Rights Commission, the federal court, and the Supreme Court of Canada

00:09:15.760 upheld the government's decision. While not necessarily a workplace exemption, Sikhs who wear

00:09:20.800 turbans are allowed to bypass mandatory motorcycle helmet laws in Alberta, Manitoba, and British Columbia.

00:09:27.680 Now taking that same rule to work, many Sikhs are able to bypass occupational and health safety

00:09:32.960 regulations by not being forced to wear a hard hat on construction sites, although this is less broad

00:09:38.720 than the previous rule and generally occurs on a case by case basis. Also, Sikhs have advocated for

00:09:45.120 and received alternative screening procedures for religious items such as the kerpan, a ceremonial

00:09:51.680 dagger. In 2017, Transport Canada changed its policy to allow small kerpans, which is a

00:09:58.080 blade less than six centimeters, in carry-on luggage on domestic and international flights excluding to

00:10:05.360 the United States.

00:10:10.720 Soil leader Yves-François Blanchet said Liberal leader Mark Carney, quote, doesn't give a damn

00:10:16.240 about the needs of Quebec, accusing him of not liking the people who live there. Blanchet said, quote,

00:10:21.360 he doesn't like us so much. He will never say that he does not like us. Blanchet urged

00:10:25.360 Quebecers to vote for the Bloc in the upcoming election to ensure that Kearney doesn't form

00:10:29.360 a majority government that would not protect the province's culture, language, and economy.

00:10:33.680 Blanchet said, quote, I don't feel the love. I don't feel interest for Quebec. I don't feel

00:10:39.280 interest for the differences. I don't feel interest for the language. I don't feel interest for the

00:10:44.000 culture. I don't feel interest for anything, which is Quebec. Blanchet's comments were in response

00:10:49.440 to being asked about what he made of Kearney's stance towards Quebec. The Bloc Québécois have

00:10:54.560 steadily been gaining momentum in the campaign, surging up from four ridings on March 30th to

00:11:00.400 17 as of April 10th, according to the latest Nanos poll. Blanchet is annoyed by Kearney's poor

00:11:06.720 comprehension of the French language, bothered by the fact that he, quote, doesn't pronounce the words

00:11:11.680 lumber, aluminum, fisheries, and aerospace, all of which are essential sectors in Quebec.

00:11:17.840 Kearney has not yet responded to Blanchet's criticism. The Bloc Québécois leader has gone

00:11:22.320 after Kearney before, saying that he was hiding from the media following Kearney's decision to

00:11:27.040 skip out of the French TVA debate. So Noah, how are the Liberals currently performing in Quebec?

00:11:33.120 The Liberals are doing quite well in Quebec compared to how they were doing under Trudeau in recent

00:11:39.600 years. The Liberals, according to 338 Canada in December, were polling at around 20% in Quebec,

00:11:49.280 and it wasn't really looking good for them in the seat count either. They were said to win

00:11:53.760 around 20 seats down from the around 30 plus that they had under Trudeau after the 2021 election. But

00:12:03.200 the Liberals currently, they're projected to win around 46 seats, according to Philip J. Fournier's

00:12:09.200 aggregator. And that is quite a surprise to many people in Canadian politics who see Mark Kearney as

00:12:16.720 an Anglophone whose French is not that great. I'm a French speaker myself. I'm not that great at

00:12:21.840 French. I'm probably at Kearney's level. And I would admit that my French is not where it ought to be if

00:12:28.080 I were, you know, running for prime minister, which I am not intending to. But Kearney is. And as your

00:12:34.560 French speaker yourself, Isaac, you could probably tell that Kearney's French is not that great. So a lot of

00:12:40.800 Quebecers maybe have concerns over a leader of the Liberal Party who does not have a truly solid grasp

00:12:48.880 over his comprehension of the French language. Oftentimes, he has to have reporters repeat

00:12:55.120 questions for him. And he requires assistance in being able to articulate himself in French,

00:13:03.280 heavily relying on pre-written notes and just overall scripted speeches. And when he goes off script,

00:13:11.760 it's not nearly as clear as to what he is trying to say in French. That being said, he's performing a lot

00:13:18.320 better than Trudeau has performed in Quebec. So it seems as if Quebecers are ignoring some of the

00:13:25.440 flaws that he has with his grasp over the French language in order to unite against the supposed threat

00:13:32.720 of Donald Trump's tariffs as Quebec nationalism and sovereignty has been sidelined by this issue. But

00:13:41.120 Yves-Francois Blanchet is trying to bring the issue back in order to restore his party's prospects.

00:13:46.880 His party was polling quite well in the lead-up to Trudeau's resignation, around 35 percent in Quebec,

00:13:55.600 which would have translated to around 45 seats for the Bloc Québécois. That would have been one of their

00:14:01.280 best showings since the Gilles Duceppe era, where the last time they would have won that many seats

00:14:08.720 would be the 2006 election. The Bloc Québécois have not reached those highs since Yves-Francois Blanchet

00:14:16.080 brought the party back from some poor showings in the 2011 and 2015 campaign, winning 32 seats.

00:14:24.800 But if they want to at least maintain their seat count or surpass what they had gotten in the 2021 and

00:14:32.880 2019 elections, the Bloc Québécois do need to boost their popularity in Quebec. They need to attack

00:14:39.280 Mark Carney, bring him down a peg. And I think that Yves-Francois Blanchet is really banking on the two

00:14:46.000 debates, especially the French language debate, to really help his party bring back some of those

00:14:52.960 supporters who have defected to the Liberals because of the whole Donald Trump situation.

00:14:58.000 Now, the Conservatives, they have in recent months been polling around the same level as the Bloc Québécois.

00:15:05.280 This doesn't translate to nearly as many seats as the Bloc Québécois' vote efficiency is better.

00:15:10.720 But if Yves-Francois Blanchet doesn't want to be polling below the Conservative Party, which historically has not

00:15:17.040 really performed very well in Quebec, besides when Brian Mulroney was the PC leader back from 1984 to 1993,

00:15:25.680 he will have to try to exaggerate some of the concerns that Quebec has. He has been leaning

00:15:32.240 in on the supply management issue. As you have mentioned, he has been trying to, you know,

00:15:38.160 hammer Carney on the fact that he doesn't know how to pronounce certain words that are important to

00:15:43.520 Quebec industries. So it really seems as if he is trying to make this push. But it remains to be seen

00:15:50.480 whether or not he will be successful, whether or not he will be able to sidestep the issue that

00:15:55.520 is on the minds of many Quebecers and able to reinforce the fact that the Liberals don't stand for

00:16:02.080 the interests of Quebecers and that the Bloc Québécois are the party to represent the interests of Quebecers.

00:16:12.880 That's it for today, folks. Thanks for tuning in. You can stay on top of new episodes every weekday by

00:16:17.840 subscribing to The Daily Brief on iTunes and Spotify. Also, while you're at it, make sure to hit us with a

00:16:23.360 5-star rating and please leave a review.

Juno News - April 14, 2025

Mark Carney doubles down on Trudeau's internet censorship

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