By Denis Carmel
OTTAWA – On Nov. 23, Mary Simon, Canada’s Governor-General read her first Speech from the Throne (SFT), which included mention of harmful content online and the Broadcasting Act.
Although the process is imbued in ceremony and tradition, it serves an important function and provides everyone in government with a roadmap for the next few years.
Covid-19, the economy, reconciliation, climate change, safety, healthy and inclusive communities, housing and child care are clearly the priorities.
If your issue is not embedded in the SFT, good luck trying to push this topic in the months ahead.
The SFT also sends a message to the opposition parties and the Senate, that the government will pursue these goals.
“The Government will continue to invest in the empowerment of Black and racialized Canadians, and Indigenous Peoples. It will also continue to fight harmful content online, and stand up for LGBTQ2 communities while completing the ban on conversion therapy,” the SFT reads.
“To support Canadian culture and creative industries, the Government will also reintroduce legislation to reform the Broadcasting Act and ensure web giants pay their fair share for the creation and promotion of Canadian content,” it goes on.
These priorities, are clearly spelled out, which should ensure they will receive preferential treatment by the government. Sales tax for online retail and fair compensation of news media outlets could have been pushed down as government priorities.
The SFT will also be reflected in the mandate letters issued to individual ministers, which have not been made public yet.
From a parliamentary point of view, the address will be debated for the next few days and should go to a vote. In a minority parliament, if it is defeated, Parliament would be dissolved and we would go back to elections – but opposition parties have indicated they would support it.
