You Have More Power Than You Think

As Guilbeault & Trudeau backtrack on Bill C-10 – after demonizing critics – we are seeing the power that individual Canadians can have when they refuse to buy into government propaganda.

The Liberal government is in retreat on Bill C-10.

A day after saying social media accounts with large followings would be regulated, Steven Guilbeault backtracked:

“After suggesting that under Bill C-10, the Canadian Radio-television and telecommunications Commission (CRTC) could impose discoverability regulations on individuals who have a large-enough following online, Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault has backtracked, saying that’s not the case.

In a new statement sent to CTV News late Sunday night, the minister says he used “unclear” language when he referred to people and online channels being subject to federal regulations as part of the government’s updates to the Broadcasting Act.”

“In the new statement, the minister says he “should have been more precise” in the words he used, as: “an individual — a person — who uses social media will never be considered as broadcasters and will not be subject to the obligations or regulations within the Broadcasting Act.”

And then, the Liberals backtracked even further:

“Faced with weeks of criticism, the government finally backed an updated Charter study of Bill C-10, additional hearings with ministers and experts, and putting the bill on hold until that happens.”

The legislation will be paused, as MPs will put it under review for a ‘Charter Statement:

“Conservative, Liberal, Bloc and NDP MPs all voted in favour of asking for a revised “charter statement” on Bill C-10. Such statements are issued by the justice minister to examine the potential impact new legislation may have on Canadians’ rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The motion also requests that both Justice Minister David Lametti and Canadian Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault, along with a panel of experts, appear before the committee to discuss the implications of recent amendments to the bill and take questions from committee members.”

Delayed, not defeated

Now, let us take a moment to realize that Bill C-10 hasn’t been eliminated.

It’s not cancelled, nor is it being withdrawn.

Bill C-10 is delayed, and the effort to ram it through has been blocked for the time being, but the fight is not over.

That said, this is a very important moment.

You have more power than you think

In this past year, and in many subtle ways beforehand, politicians – particularly those who seek to centralize authority – have attempted to create a feeling of powerlessness among Canadians.

Many Canadians have bought into that sense of powerlessness, because it closely tracks with the pathological ‘niceness’ that afflicts our nation and makes it so easy for many Canadians to be walked all over.

That submissive attitude is surely what Justin Trudeau & Steven Guilbeault were counting on, as they sought to use Bill C-10 to give the government the power regulate social media and restrict freedom on the internet.

They expected people to just go along with it, and buy into the pathetic spin that it was about ‘fighting hate’ or ‘confronting the big tech giants.’

But that’s not how it’s gone, and if you are someone who spoke out against Bill C-10, if you emailed your MP, or called their office, or even spoke to others about the danger of Bill C-10, you deserve credit for forcing the Liberals to backtrack.

Your efforts helped stop the Liberal attempt to steamroll over opposition and made it impossible for them to get away with their attempt to demonize critics.

Remember, a week ago Justin Trudeau was claiming that opponents of the bill were tinfoil-hat wearing crazies, and now even Liberal MPs are expressing concern about it, as reported by Blacklock’s:

“Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault’s bill to regulate YouTube is stalled under Opposition filibuster as one Liberal MP acknowledged “not all Liberals are the same” on the legislation. The current bill would subject YouTube videos uploaded for private viewing to the same Codes Of Conduct as TV and radio shows: “Content individuals post on social media should not be regulated.””

What do you think changed between when the Liberals were trying to ram it through, and now?

It was people like you, who spoke out and pushed back.

Even the Conservative Opposition wasn’t doing much to push back against C-10 until people like you started fighting, which in turn pressured the Conservatives to put their effort into blocking it.

You can use the self-interest of politicians to your advantage

As we know, politicians are self-interested and often hyper-partisan.

But in most cases, above their fealty to their party and their party leader is their fealty to getting re-elected.

When they start to sense the public is turning, when they start to believe their own re-election prospects will be imperiled by a strong backlash, the external pressure they receive is translated into internal pressure.

When enough MPs – even ‘backbench’ MPs – who the PMO and party leadership structures often like to ignore – demand a change, they have strength in numbers. After all, there are always more backbench MPs than there are cabinet ministers.

And when they begin to push, that’s when things often start to change.

But they don’t push unless the public pushes them first, and that’s what has happened here.

The fight is not over

Now, despite the Liberal attempt to steamroll Bill C-10 being stopped, the fight isn’t over.

Time and time again the Liberals have responded to a backlash against Bill C-10 by trying to make a concession to tamp down the outrage, before waiting for the news cycle to shift and going right back to trying to ram it through.

And, as noted again by Blacklock’s, C-10 is clearly about politics, not protecting ‘Canadian content’:

““You know the origins of this? A protest on Parl Hill Feb, 2019 where somebody had a sign: ‘Trudeau’s a traitor.’ Clerk of @PrivyCouncilCA went into committee and wet his pants.” Eye on Ottawa #BillC10 with @steeletalk & Blacklock’s Reporter. omny.fm/shows/steele-d@CdnHeritage”

Trudeau and Guilbeault clearly aren’t done trying to pass C-10 and will continue to try and silence their critics.

Their desperation to pass the legislation, and their willingness to demonize C-10’s critics must be matched – and surpassed – by our willingness to continue fighting.

They want you to think you are weak and powerless, but we have shown that we are anything but.

When we stand strong, and when you speak out, you have far more power than you think, and the politicians are terrified of us all waking up and realizing that fundamental truth.

Spencer Fernando

Photo – YouTube

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