If the Liberal government is worried about misinformation and disinformation, they should start by censoring themselves.
The Liberal government is lying at a truly stunning pace. Each day brings a new falsehood, a new easily-debunked claim, and a new desperate move to try and distract Canadians with dishonest narratives.
And yet, even as they endlessly lie to us, the Liberal government is demanding the power to define truth online, restrict our ability to share and access information on social media, and censor those they disagree with.
The more they lie, the more they accuse others of lying and demand more centralized power. Some may see this as a coincidence, but it is not. The more desperate the Liberals get – and they are extremely desperate right now – the more they will lie to distract and cover-up their issues. The more they do this, the more they will be called out and discredited since Canada remains – for now – a relatively free and open society where people can criticize the government.
The Liberals know this, and thus see reducing our freedom as the best way to regain control over the information space and get away with their lies. Ironically, one of the few honest things Justin Trudeau said was when he expressed his admiration for China’s ‘Basic Dictatorship.’ The Chinese Communist Party is able to lie all the time about everything, and there is no real pushback within China because every media outlet is controlled by the state, every social media platform is controlled by the state, and any ‘offending’ remarks can be quickly deleted.
Everything Trudeau has done in terms of expanding state media, making more of the press dependent on taxpayer money, pushing legislation like C-11 and C-18, is all about moving Canada away from being a freewheeling open debate society and turning us into a society where the state decides what we can and can’t say, and sets increasingly restrictive boundaries on what is and isn’t acceptable.
If the government was acting in good faith, they would cease all their attempts to control the narrative, cease their rampant lying, and respect the fact that Canada is made stronger by open debate and free expression. They should realize that their political interests and Canada’s national interests aren’t the same thing, and that the freedom of Canadians is more important than their re-election hopes.
But they won’t do that, certainly not under Justin Trudeau’s leadership.
They’re going to keep lying, and they’re going to keep demanding more state censorship and state control over the media. Even when Canadian content creators and media advocates came forward and testified on the danger of legislation like Bill C-11 and Bill C-18, the Liberals arrogantly dismissed their concerns and have proceeded to ram their dangerous legislation through.
While there are some good Liberal MPs, they are unfortunately not in the drivers seat in this government. Justin Trudeau and his cronies are in control, and they are profoundly hostile to the rights and freedoms of Canadians and have zero respect for the free and open exchange of ideas.
Spencer Fernando
