Cabinet is preparing to roll out its third attempt in four years to pass a sweeping internet censorship bill, raising fresh concerns among free speech advocates.Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault confirmed the legislation would resemble Bill C-36, a failed 2021 proposal critics called “overbroad and incoherent.” Blacklock's Reporter said the original bill sought to ban online content deemed likely to promote “detestation or vilification” of any person or group, with offenders facing fines up to $70,000 or house arrest. A federally-appointed Digital Safety Commissioner would have policed internet speech.The bill drew strong opposition from Conservatives, independent media, academics, and libertarians. .The University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab warned in 2021 that the law could be “potentially exploitive and unconstitutional” and would threaten journalism, scholarship, and political dissent without “clear safeguards against abuse of process.”At committee hearings Wednesday, Guilbeault defended the new push, saying the government must combat online harms and preserve “social cohesion.” Internal heritage department documents from 2021 flagged the need to regulate views that threaten communities, public safety, or the credibility of Canadian institutions..“Everybody in this country, and especially elected officials, have a responsibility to protect our institutions,” Guilbeault said.“The last thing we should do is diminish them just to score points.”Critics say the bill could criminalize legitimate debate and artistic expression while giving unprecedented power to a federal regulator to police speech on the internet. The government has not yet released details of the new proposal.
