Heritage Minister Marc Miller arranged confidential briefings on the United Kingdom Labour government's plans to combat division, extremism and hate during a July trip to Britain, according to an Access to Information memo.The discussions included a Labour government “social cohesion” action plan that singled out what it described as “digital grifters” and “politicians of grievance” as having an interest in promoting division.“The United Kingdom’s Secretary of State for Housing recently released an action plan, Protecting What Matters: Towards A More Confident, Cohesive And Resilient United Kingdom to strengthen social cohesion and tackle hate and discrimination,” said the federal memo.The document described the United Kingdom as “an important partner in online safety.”Miller travelled to Glasgow to attend the July 23 Commonwealth Games. An internal memo titled Minister’s Visit To The United Kingdom And Ireland In July said other meetings were arranged during the trip, including discussions concerning the British government's action plan.Labour's April 28 plan called for government to develop “new tools” aimed at organizations accused of promoting extremism and hate.“We will develop new tools and powers to disrupt organizations that spread extremism, hate and threaten public safety,” said the report.The British plan also said authorities would not tolerate individuals attempting to promote division or anger against people holding different religious, political or social views.“We can and must do more,” said Protecting What Matters. “In a world where so many people — digital grifters, hostile states, politicians of grievance — have a vested interest in division, we need to be much more active in asserting British values.”Miller has previously described social cohesion as an issue for the federal government..The minister was questioned about his definition of the term during February 12 testimony before the House of Commons heritage committee.“What is social cohesion?” asked Conservative MP Rachael Thomas (Lethbridge, Alta.).“Social cohesion is the ability for people to trust their institutions, to not feel like society is falling apart, that we are all living together and able to exercise the rights, in the case of Canada, that define us,” replied Miller.Thomas told the committee the terminology had also been associated with authoritarian government control.“Experienced journalists have said this term is often used by the People’s Republic of China to mean state control and zero tolerance for challenges,” said Thomas. “That seems counter to the values we hold here in Canada.”Miller responded that disinformation was contributing to declining social cohesion.“I think in an age we’re all living through of intense disinformation, there is less social cohesion as falsities are propagated through media sources, both legitimate and illegitimate,” he said.Miller did not name any media organizations he considered “illegitimate.”The heritage department has also linked the CBC to Ottawa's efforts to strengthen social cohesion.A September 24 briefing note called Fostering Canadian Identity To Strengthen Our Sovereignty And Social Cohesion described the public broadcaster as playing a central role in Canadian identity.“The CBC is a pillar of our cultural identity and a cornerstone of our sovereignty,” said the note.The department warned foreign governments, social media and foreign-owned platforms could contribute to polarization in Canada.“There are foreign state efforts to drive social division,” said the briefing note.“Other trends including disinformation campaigns launched by foreign actors, the amplification of divisive content on social media platforms and a growing overreliance on foreign owned platforms and content threaten our information sovereignty and continue to drive polarization and undermine our social cohesion.”
