Social Policy in Ontario

Over the past few weeks, a small but vocal cadre of free market fundamentalists has turned the debate over Bill C-10, which would update the Broadcasting Act for the first time since 1991, into a royal rumble over free expression, conjuring up a bogeyman bureaucrat hell-bent on censoring your social media.

The hysteria is unfounded. It’s hardly the first time people have torqued the truth to advance their world view. But the most interesting thing is that neither the doomsayers, nor their sympathizers in the Conservative Party, seem interested in fixing the problems they’re so worked up about.

In a minority Parliament, the opposition controls committees, which means they can change Bill C-10 without the support of even a single government MP. But the Conservatives are not using that power. They’re not even trying. Instead they’re talking out the clock, much to the delight of the litany of overnight broadcasting experts on social media clamouring feverishly for Bill C-10’s death.

This suggests something else is going on, that the outcry over Bill C-10 is being sustained by people whose ultimate goal is to kill the entire idea of Canadian cultural policy in the internet age. Yet, these self-styled martyrs for democracy are pushing fringe views that run counter to the values and preferences of the overwhelming majority of Canadians, who support sensible updates to Canada’s main media law.

That’s not just my opinion. It’s a fact.

Nanos Research recently surveyed 1,007 Canadians about a variety of cultural policy issues on behalf of FRIENDS of Canadian Broadcasting. The results are crystal clear, and accurate plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

The survey shows 78 per cent of Canadians agree (58 per cent), or somewhat agree (20 per cent), that foreign internet broadcasters like Netflix should be subject to the same rules and contribution requirements as Canadian broadcasters.

This was the main objective of Bill C-10, but it’s on hold now as the faux free expression debate rages on. Remember, the government does not hold a majority on the Heritage Committee. If critics of Bill C-10 think the government has gone too far, the opposition parties can overrule them, cutting out the contentious parts to allow necessary reforms to Canada’s cultural policy to proceed. This would repatriate hundreds of millions of dollars per year for quality Canadian storytelling. Alas, that hasn’t happened.

The doomsayers’ American-style free speech fundamentalism is way offside with most Canadians: 83 per cent of Canadians support (58 per cent) or somewhat support (25 per cent) legislation to hold companies like Facebook and Twitter, and their individual executives, legally liable for broadcasting illegal user-generated content. This is not a betrayal of free expression rights. Canadians simply understand that free expression and the rule of law have long coexisted in our country, and that applying our laws fairly and equally to internet giants will not compromise our right to say whatever we want within the law.

Here’s the most interesting part. The #StopC10 crowd makes it seem like the complete deregulation of social media is essential to democracy, using slippery rhetorical tricks like calling Facebook a “public square,” even though it is owned and governed privately without any regard for the public interest.

Canadians aren’t falling for it. Asked whether the influence of Facebook and other social media platforms makes democracy stronger, just 4 per cent said yes. A resounding 56 per cent of Canadians said Facebook and social media makes Canadian democracy weaker (26 per cent) or somewhat weaker (30 per cent), including more than half of voters from all regions.

Conservative MPs crusading to protect Mark Zuckerberg from Canadian law should pay extra close attention, because Conservative voters are among the most likely to believe that Facebook weakens Canadian democracy: 67 per cent of Tory voters think Facebook makes Canadian democracy weaker (44 per cent), more than any other party, or somewhat weaker (23 per cent). Just 6.4 per cent of Conservatives think social media makes Canadian democracy stronger (1.8 per cent) or somewhat stronger (4.6 per cent).

Internet anarchists are dominating media coverage of Bill C-10, but the numbers don’t lie: the pundits crying “CENSORSHIP!” are pushing an extreme fringe perspective. The Canadian public is eminently more sensible. Ottawa should put citizens’ views and interests first