Governor General Mary Simon’s office insists she is “non-partisan and apolitical” after she personally hosted a symposium in support of the Trudeau Liberals' Online Harms bill. The guest list was limited to Attorney General Arif Virani and supporters of internet regulation, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. No opposition members or critics of Bill C-63: An Act To Enact The Online Harms Act were invited to the April 11 conference. “The Governor General is non-partisan and apolitical,” Rideau Hall said in a statement entitled Roles And Responsibilities.Simon’s office would not disclose the names of all invitees or explain why others were excluded from the April 11 event. Nor did Rideau Hall justify the pro-government event.Further, it refused to release any video or audio recordings of the conference or a transcript of speakers’ remarks.Some guests did include former CTV News anchor Lisa LaFlamme, Le Devoir columnist Emilie Nicolas, former Global News reporter Rachel Gilmore, Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam, gender activist Fae Johnstone and Ottawa school trustee Nili Kaplan-Myrth.Rideau Hall said the meeting was to “bring together individuals who experience online violence and experts from across the country to share their experiences, explore solutions and create allyship and networks of resilience.”“Participants include academics, journalists, government officials, gender equality advocates, mental health practitioners, tech industry representatives and youth leaders from across the country.”Simon supported the bill publicly on her social media as well. “Let’s transform these conversations into action,” the governor general posted to Twitter (“X”). “Help us create a safer online world.”Virani on social media confirmed Simon’s private conference was intended to support Bill C-63. “We know online harms have real world consequences,” Virani wrote.“With industry experts at the Governor General’s symposium we discussed this and our Online Harms Act.”Bill C-63 would require that Facebook, YouTube and other social media platforms “mitigate the risk that users will be exposed to harmful comment” with compliance monitored by a five-member Digital Safety Commission. The bill would also appoint a federal ombudsman to “provide support to users of social media services.”The proposal follows a failed 2021 measure C-36 An Act To Amend The Criminal Code that went further in granting a “digital safety commissioner” powers to block websites containing legal content deemed hurtful. Hate speech is already prohibited under 1970 amendments to the Criminal Code.“Social media is everywhere,” Virani testified March 21 at the Commons Justice Committee. “It brings unchecked dangers and horrific content. This frankly terrifies me. We need to make the internet safe.”Academics, free speech advocates and the Canadian chapter of the Internet Society to date have opposed federal regulation of legal internet content. In-house 2023 Privy Council research showed a majority of Canadians are also opposed.“While most believed harmful content online represented a growing concern few felt it to be a major issue at present,” said a June 12 report called Continuous Qualitative Data Collection Of Canadians’ Views. “Several were of the view that individuals were typically able to avoid harmful content by blocking it or not utilizing platforms on which it was present.”
