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Globe and Mail
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Globe and Mail
Ottawa pressed to split online harms bill to fast-track its passage
Child-safety advocates and technology experts are urging the federal government to swiftly bring back the online harms bill, but to split it in two to speed passage of measures that protect children from abuse. Bill C-63, which died when the last Parliament was prorogued in January, included initiatives to combat online child abuse and hate. But it faced sharp criticism from opposition MPs and civil liberty advocates for also proposing new criminal offences for hate propaganda and hate crimes – including life in prison for inciting genocide. Advocacy group OpenMedia says hundreds of messages have been sent to MPs since the election calling for the government to reintroduce the online harms bill. They want it to focus on measures to improve online safety for children and youth, and to create an independent regulator to tackle predatory behaviour, bullying and abuse online, while protecting online privacy or expression. The bill drew criticism from civil liberties groups for proposing a 'peace bond' to deter people feared to be planning to carry out hate crimes and hate propaganda offences, with penalties such as house arrest. Government ministers have indicated they plan to bring back the online harms bill but have not yet confirmed who would be shepherding it through Parliament. Will Carney's to-do list be hindered by parliamentary tactics? How the next government can protect Canada's information ecosystem Earlier this month, Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon said he expected it would be steered through by Canadian Identity Minister Steven Guilbeault. Among those calling for a swift reintroduction of the bill is Carol Todd, the mother of Amanda Todd, a teenager who died by suicide after falling victim to cyberbullying. She warned that Canada is lagging far behind countries such as the U.S. and Britain, which have already passed laws to protect people in the digital sphere. Ms. Todd said the government should take feedback it received on Bill C-63 before the election, including criticism of increased penalties for hate crimes, and put the Criminal Code measures on a separate track. 'They need to do two bills. If they put the same bill through, the same things will happen again and it will get held up,' she said. Bill C-63 would have forced online platforms to swiftly remove child sexual abuse material, intimate content shared without consent, and posts encouraging a child to self-harm. It would have created a digital safety commission and ombudsperson to combat online hate. 'The previous government's attempt to combine a platform accountability bill with a criminal justice bill was unwise,' said John Matheson, who leads the Canadian arm of Reset Tech, a global non-profit that fights digital threats to democracy, 'The Carney government would miss the mark if they do not create a new public regulator to hold platforms accountable in keeping our kids safe,' he said. The advocacy group OpenMedia wants the government to bring back the bill soon after MPs return from their summer break. 'Canada's next Online Harms Act should be about addressing the worst online harms, and not package in broader measures that aren't about the consequences of digital technologies,' said Matt Hatfield, the group's executive director. He said the controversy over new criminal penalties for hate speech and hate crimes 'completely overshadowed discussion of part one, the real core of the Online Harms Act.' 'There's still critical amendments to make to part one's text to strike the right balance between safety and online privacy and expression, but these changes are at a scale a parliamentary committee given adequate time can accomplish.' Lianna McDonald, executive director of the Canadian Centre for Child Protection, said it 'would not be opposed to the approach of addressing Criminal Code and human rights amendments through its own bill or bills, and addressing online harms to children in its own bill.' 'It was clear in the last session that there was consensus amongst our elected officials that legislative action to protect children from online harms is urgently needed, so it seems more likely that a bill focused on the protection of children will be able to move forward,' she said. Charlotte Moore Hepburn, medical director of the division of pediatrics at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, said 'a new bill – one that prioritizes online safety for children and youth – is essential.'
Toronto Sun
20-06-2025
- Business
- Toronto Sun
Contentious 'One Canadian Economy' bill passes House
Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Friday, June 20, 2025. Photo by Justin Tang / The Canadian Press OTTAWA — The government's wishes of passing a controversial nation-building bill before summer break have come true. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Despite fierce opposition from community groups, First Nations leaders and even within the Liberal caucus, Bill C-5 — the One Canadian Economy Act — has passed third reading in the House of Commons. Third reading passed in the House 306 to 31. Following the vote, the House adjourned until Sept. 15. The bill will now move to the Senate, which will sit June 25 to 27 to consider the legislation. C-5 allows cabinet to grant fast approvals for major nation-building projects such as pipelines, ports, mines and energy ventures, and lift barriers to interprovincial trade. Opposition from Indigenous communities was brisk, claiming the bill usurps Indigenous rights guaranteed under Sec. 35 of the Constitution. 'The constitutional obligations to obtain free prior and informed consent — there's no reason to fast-track a bill in the name of national interest,' said NDP MP Leah Gazan earlier this week. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'In the name of national interest, that will be decided upon in the absence of Indigenous people.' Read More C-5 made its way through the House at an unusually quick pace, part of Prime Minister Mark Carney's hopes of getting the bill enshrined into law by Canada Day. The bill passed first reading on June 6 and was immediately accelerated to the House Transport, Infrastructure and Communities committee, which wrapped deliberations on on Thursday. With the NDP and Bloc opposed to C-5, quick passage was due to a rare alliance between the Liberals and Tories. 'Canadians are not short on talent, we're not short on ambition, we're certainly not short of natural resources, but what we are short on is a government that knows how to unleash that potential and gets things built,' said Flamborough-Glanbrook-Brant North MP Dan Muys during the third reading debate. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'I hear this all the time — people are ready to work, businesses want to expand, communities are waiting for critical infrastructure, but over and over again we run into the same thing: bureaucratic bottlenecks, over-regulation and a government more interested in headline-grabbing projects rather than permitting economically important ones.' Those who voted against the bill include Liberal MP Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-François Blanchet, Finance Critic Gabriel Ste-Marie and Bloc Trade Critic Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay. Among those applauding the move is the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, who said stripping important projects from needless bureaucracy is vital to economic prosperity. 'This legislation rises to meet the moment of the economic crisis that Canada is facing from the United States' unjust trade war on Canadian goods and resources,' read a statement from chamber public policy head Matthew Holmes. 'In response, we must trade more within Canada, while looking at like-minded countries in Europe and around the world that are eager to buy our goods and resources. 'We cannot have all our eggs in the United States economic basket any longer.' bpassifiume@ X: @bryanpassifiume RECOMMENDED VIDEO World Toronto & GTA Columnists MMA World
National Observer
17-06-2025
- Business
- National Observer
Conservatives vote with Carney government to rush Bill C-5
The federal Conservatives voted with the Liberals on a special order to push a massive piece of legislation on major project approvals through the House of Commons before the week's end. Three hundred and five Conservative and Liberal MPs voted in favour of the government's time allocation motion, while 30 Bloc Québécois, Green and NDP MPs voted against it. The federal government is determined to get Bill C-5 — dubbed the One Canadian Economy Act — through the House of Commons before MPs leave Ottawa for the summer recess. With the Conservatives' support, it looks like the federal government will succeed. Now, the federal Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities will have two meetings this week to study bill C-5 before it is set to report back to the House on Friday. Conservatives and Liberals voted against a Bloc Québécois amendment that would have given the committee two full days to study the legislation. The Bloc Québécois, NDP and Green Party say the Liberals' time allocation motion is undemocratic and doesn't give MPs enough time to study and fully understand the legislation. The section on major project approvals alone would give the federal government authorization to override 13 existing laws and seven regulations for projects deemed 'in the national interest.' Many of these laws and regulations are environmental. The proposed legislation would allow the federal government to conditionally approve projects it deems 'in the national interest' before an environmental or impact assessment or other regulatory processes take place. Review processes will still take place but focus on 'how' a project should be built instead of 'whether' it can be built. Liberal MPs, cabinet ministers and House Leader Steven MacKinnon justified the controversial time allocation motion by saying the government was elected on a mandate to move quickly on projects of national interest and remove federal trade barriers. Liberal MPs, cabinet ministers and House Leader Steven MacKinnon justified the controversial time allocation motio n by saying the government was elected on a mandate to move quickly on projects of national interest and remove federal trade barriers. To assuage concerns, Liberal MPs and cabinet ministers have repeatedly referred to a set of 'criteria' used to determine whether a project is deemed 'in the national interest.' Some factors the government may consider include whether a project advances the interests of Indigenous Peoples and contributes to 'clean growth.' The latter criterion was received with skepticism because Prime Minister Mark Carney touted an oilsands lobby group's proposed carbon capture megaproject as an example of one possible project in the national interest. The problem: the legislation does not require projects to meet all or any of these factors; they are merely a suggestion. Similarly, Carney said his government won't impose a project on a province. However, this is not spelled out in the proposed legislation — Carney's word is the only assurance that provinces won't have a pipeline or other project forced through their jurisdiction. This verbal commitment is not enough to protect provincial sovereignty, Bloc Québécois MPs argue. All day Monday, Bloc Québécois MPs took shots at the Conservatives for voting with the federal government, questioning whether the official opposition is still willing to stand up for democracy. To this, Conservative MP Chris Lewis pointed out that the NDP and Bloc Québécois have both voted with the Liberals previously. If all goes according to the federal government's plan, Bill C-5 will pass third reading on Friday and be sent to the Senate where it goes through a similar process of study and possible amendments. The Senate got a headstart studying the bill on Monday. In the afternoon, senators heard testimony from Transport and Internal Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland on the first portion of the bill which aims to eliminate federal barriers to interprovincial trade. The Senate sits for one week longer than the House of Commons; its last possible sitting day is June 27, compared to June 20 for MPs. Senator Paul Prosper said he plans on putting forward an amendment to slow C-5 down if and when it gets to the Senate in 'hopes that more rational minds prevail in terms of consulting with Indigenous groups.' 'Looking at all options' At a non-partisan news conference on Monday morning, Green Party MP Elizabeth May, Indigenous leaders, Senator Paul Prosper, NDP MP Gord Johns and two environmental lawyers urged the federal government to slow down and not rush the bill. 'This legislation is certainly something all Canadians should be concerned about,' said Abram Benedict, Regional Chief for the Chiefs of Ontario, referencing similar legislation in Ontario that is 'undermining democracy' and First Nations rights holders. Chiefs of Ontario is not opposed to development or projects, Benedict said. 'But First Nation rights holders must be involved from the beginning, not given three weeks' notice that legislation will be coming forward, and given two weeks' notice of what it looks like,' he said. Benedict said the Chiefs of Ontario will 'be looking at all options,' including protest and legal options to slow the federal government down in the courts to ensure rights-holders are heard. This includes a rally planned for Tuesday afternoon outside Parliament. The bill 'is an assault on science and democracy,' Anna Johnston, a staff lawyer at West Coast Environmental Law, said at the press conference. Johnston said the bill will shut the public out of decisions that affect them and allow cabinet to withhold 'virtually all' information about projects from the public, including the project details, scientific reviews and the advice of responsible ministers. Public comment periods would still take place, but after a project has already been listed and received conditional approval, according to the legislation. 'If a highway were designated for fast-tracking just blocks from your home, the minister wouldn't have to give you any information beyond the name and a brief description of it, and you would have no say in whether, where, or how the highway was built,' Johnston said. Ecojustice staff lawyer Joshua Ginsberg is concerned about the federal government giving itself powers to override existing laws to get projects built. Some of the 13 laws the federal government could override under the proposed legislation include: the Fisheries Act, Indian Act, Canada Marine Act, Species at Risk Act and the Impact Assessment Act. 'For example, today, the federal government cannot issue permits, by law, for activities that would jeopardize the survival and recovery of a threatened species, but under this bill, the government could be compelled to approve activities causing that kind of harm, even if science warns of catastrophic consequences,' Ginsberg said. The legislation also empowers ministers to override laws passed by Parliament. This 'extraordinary mechanism' concentrates decision-making authority in the executive and weakens democratic oversight, he said. This bill is worse than Stephen Harper's omnibus bill C-38 which famously 'destroyed 70 environmental laws,' May said. 'It appears to me, and it remains to be seen, that Mr. Carney's new majority coalition is Liberal-Conservative, delivering Pierre Poilievre policies with a more friendly face,' May said. The bill has a five-year sunset clause, meaning that if the bill becomes law, there will be a five year period during which projects can be listed for conditional approval. May pointed out that one Liberal MP, Patrick Weiler, wants a shorter sunset clause because of the sweeping powers it affords to government. 'Allowing cabinet to decide which projects proceed before reviewing them is like jumping off a cliff and then asking for the parachute,' Johnston said. The Bloc Québécois wants no part of projects based on 'energy of the past,' MP Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay said during debate on his party's motion on Monday evening. This is just economic and environmental common sense, he said, referencing scientific reports that a vast majority of fossil fuel reserves must remain in the ground if the world has any hope of limiting global warming in line with the Paris Agreement. Canada's oilsands produce 'some of the most heavily polluting oil in the world,' he said.
Ottawa Citizen
12-06-2025
- Business
- Ottawa Citizen
'We need to move': Liberals defend plan to ram through major projects bill before Canada Day
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney's government is coming under fire for its plan to push its internal trade and major projects bill through the House of Commons next week at high speed. Article content Government House leader Steven MacKinnon has put a motion on notice that would push Bill C-5 through the House of Commons by the end of next week at an unusually rapid pace — leaving only a few hours to hear from civil society groups, stakeholders and experts. Article content Article content Article content If the motion is adopted, it would quickly move through debate at second reading stage and a vote, after which the bill would be referred to a House of Commons committee. Article content Article content Members of the committee would meet Tuesday and Wednesday to gather evidence from witnesses, before undertaking a clause-by-clause consideration of the legislation. Article content The expectation would be for the committee's report to be presented to the House on Thursday, and debate and a vote at third reading to happen on Friday — which is the last calendar day before all MPs will be going back to their respective ridings for the summer. C-5 would grant the government sweeping powers to quickly approve major natural resource and infrastructure projects once cabinet deems them to be in the national interest. Article content The legislation also looks to break down internal trade barriers and make it easier for workers to take jobs in other provinces. Article content Article content MacKinnon rejected a call from the Bloc Québécois this week to split the landmark legislation in two — so the House could speed through the less contentious internal-trade provisions while putting the controversial major projects portion under the microscope. Article content Luc Berthold, the deputy House leader for the Conservatives, declined to say if his party would support the fast-tracking of C-5 and said discussions between all parties were ongoing. Article content 'When a minority government decides it wants certain things, it needs to negotiate with all parties. So, we're awaiting the result of these negotiations,' he said on Thursday. Article content Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet said his party would oppose the motion 'with vigour.' Article content 'The kind of impetuosity from the prime minister to supercharge the legislative agenda in the short term and to bypass, from the very start of his mandate, the usual parliamentary rules are a matter of concern,' said Blanchet in French during a press conference.
National Post
12-06-2025
- Business
- National Post
'We need to move': Liberals defend plan to ram through major projects bill before Canada Day
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Mark Carney's government is coming under fire for its plan to push its internal trade and major projects bill through the House of Commons next week at high speed. Article content Government House leader Steven MacKinnon has put a motion on notice that would push Bill C-5 through the House of Commons by the end of next week at an unusually rapid pace — leaving only a few hours to hear from civil society groups, stakeholders and experts. Article content Article content Article content If the motion is adopted, it would quickly move through debate at second reading stage and a vote, after which the bill would be referred to a House of Commons committee. Article content Article content Members of the committee would meet Tuesday and Wednesday to gather evidence from witnesses, before undertaking a clause-by-clause consideration of the legislation. Article content The expectation would be for the committee's report to be presented to the House on Thursday, and debate and a vote at third reading to happen on Friday — which is the last calendar day before all MPs will be going back to their respective ridings for the summer. C-5 would grant the government sweeping powers to quickly approve major natural resource and infrastructure projects once cabinet deems them to be in the national interest. Article content The legislation also looks to break down internal trade barriers and make it easier for workers to take jobs in other provinces. Article content MacKinnon rejected a call from the Bloc Québécois this week to split the landmark legislation in two — so the House could speed through the less contentious internal-trade provisions while putting the controversial major projects portion under the microscope. Article content Article content Luc Berthold, the deputy House leader for the Conservatives, declined to say if his party would support the fast-tracking of C-5 and said discussions between all parties were ongoing. Article content 'When a minority government decides it wants certain things, it needs to negotiate with all parties. So, we're awaiting the result of these negotiations,' he said on Thursday. Article content Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet said his party would oppose the motion 'with vigour.' Article content 'The kind of impetuosity from the prime minister to supercharge the legislative agenda in the short term and to bypass, from the very start of his mandate, the usual parliamentary rules are a matter of concern,' said Blanchet in French during a press conference. Article content 'I would respectfully suggest that Mr. Carney's entourage inform him that one is not supposed to work in such a cavalier manner when facing a Parliament fresh from the oven,' he added.
