NDP

For decades the NDP were Edmonton-centric party because its leaders lived hereand Edmonton was the only place in Alberta where it actually won seats. There have been changes with the party and Calgarian NDPers outnumber Edmontonians by nearly two-to-one. Along with the shift of the NDP voting base to Calgary is former Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi, who joined the party and is the current frontrunner for leadership of the party. With the changes in the party and shift of the base to Calgary the future looks promising for the NDP.

Rachel Notley confirmed rumors yesterday when she announced her intention to step down as leader of the NDP. Rachel Notley was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in 2008, elected leader of the NDP in 2014, premier of Alberta 2015 to 2019 and leader of the opposition since then. Notely will stay on as leader of the NDP until a new leader is chosen but has not said how long she plans to remain as an MLA. She has also stated that she is “absolutely not” pursuing a role in federal politics.

The federal government’s Bill C-11 is officially known as the Online Streaming Act, but could probably be more accurately described as the Internet Censorship Bill.

This Bill is currently making its way through the federal Parliament in Ottawa and it could soon become the law of the land.

The Liberals and the NDP claim that the Bill will ensure Canadian content creators are compensated properly and that large online platforms and streaming services contribute to creating more Canadian content.

They maintain that regulation is needed to ensure Canadian content is at the forefront, and not taken over by large US-based platforms.

Canadian taxpayers probably shouldn’t be forced to fund Canadian content that no one bothers watching, but that isn’t even the real problem with the Bill - it’s much more sinister than that.

What you are allowed to see when you go online could soon be decided by the government.

The Bill opens the door to regulating not just corporate media, but user-generated content too - everything from TikTok videos to podcasts, audiobooks to citizen journalism.

The Bill gives authority to the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) to treat content creators as broadcasters and regulate user-generated content as a program.

The scope of the Bill is massive.

It basically takes the old regulatory system for TV and radio from before the internet was even invented, and applies those stringent rules to almost all audio-visual content.

Now, here’s where things get interesting.

Despite the Bill explicitly handing over control of user-generated content to the CRTC, the CRTC says that they actually have no interest in regulating this kind of content.

The Liberal government backs up the CRTC, saying that isn’t the point of the Bill.

Ok, but then, if that’s the case, why haven’t the government simply narrowed the scope of the Bill and removed the language that allows for abuse of power?

Groups like the Alberta Institute, and others across Canada, have been working against this Bill for over a year.

The federal government has had the opportunity to fix these issues.

Instead, their response is simply: “Just trust us.”

That’s not good enough.

Even worse, the Liberals say criticizing the bill is part of an organized campaign of “misinformation”.

What could possibly go wrong when they’re in charge of what you see and hear?

This rule could be used to regulate “misinformation”.

Of course, they’d the be the ones who get to decide whether something is “misinformation” or not.

Governments rarely ignore their own sweeping powers - Emergencies Act, anyone?

But, even if you believe the *current* government when they say they definitely, totally, absolutely, won’t ever use these new powers… do you trust that no *future* government will, either?

In a free market, the art and the content that people want to consume is the art and content that succeeds.

Government control of what you see when you go online is an infringement on freedom of expression, but also on the free market.

This isn’t about making Netflix pay their fair share, or about increasing Canadian content; it’s about regulating the internet and controlling what is accessible to viewers.

In this day and age, the internet is a critical part of freedom of expression.

Online content should never be regulated.

Canadians must be the sole deciders of what content they consume.

Not the government.

If you agree, please consider signing our petition:

Please also consider forwarding this email to your friends, family, colleagues, and every Canadian, to help stop this erosion of our freedoms.

Regards,

The Alberta Institute Team

#BillC21, #InternetCensorshipBill, #Liberals, #NDP,