Canada's Governor-General is officially non-partisan and apolitical, but hosted a symposium where Liberal cabinet minister Arif Virani promoted his Online Harms Bill C-63 to a selected group of influencers.
‘NON-PARTISAN, APOLITICAL’: Governor General hosts event in support of Online Harms bill | Western Standard | Jen Hodgson:
April 16, 2024 - "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....
"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....
"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."
Read more: https://www.westernstandard.news/news/non-partisan-apolitical-governor-general-hosts-event-in-support-of-online-harms-bill/53842
The Governor General deserves better, but we deserve impartiality | Macdonald-Laurier Institute | Philippe Lagassé for Inside Policy:
April 16, 2024 - "As well-intentioned as the Governor General’s symposium was, she should never have hosted it in this context, a conclusion that’s reinforced by the Minister of Justice publicly tying the event to bill C-63. As soon as the government tabled the bill, Her Excellency should have understood that the symposium was no longer appropriate and would present a risk to her office’s impartiality.... As the King’s vice-regal representative, the Governor General performs core constitutional functions. These demand that the Governor General not only act impartially but be perceived to be impartial. This isn’t just good form, it’s a fundamental part of the job....
"Turning back to the symposium, it’s important to clarify why it undermined her impartiality, or at least perceptions of it.... A full-on violation of constitutional norms isn’t the standard here. Instead, we should be asking why the Minister of Justice was even there, and why the Governor General decided to host the symposium, considering how contentious Bill C-63 has been already. Hosting the event allowed Her Excellency to get pulled into the partisan fray, a predictable outcome that she shouldn’t have risked.
"Those who participated in the symposium will counter that it was the Minister of Justice who made the connection with Bill C-63, not the Governor General. Her Excellency’s motives, and the importance of the cause addressed by the symposium, shouldn’t be impugned by a careless, partisan tweet. Alas, partisans are going to partisan and politicians are going to politick. This is precisely why vice-regal representatives should avoid wading into politically charged topics.... Defenders of the symposium offer another argument: as the sovereign’s representative, the Governor General should address important social problems that affect Canadians.... This is a fair point, though Governors General need to be careful about what causes they take up.... Anything that’s the subject of notable partisan and parliamentary debate, is ideologically fraught, or might be fought over during an election should raise red flags.
"Thankfully for the Governor General, the controversy surrounding her symposium hasn’t extended beyond the Ottawa bubble yet. She should keep it that way by abandoning her 'We Deserve Better' campaign while partisans battle it out over Bill C-63 and the courts review the Online Harms Act if it becomes law. This isn’t because the Governor General doesn’t deserve better; she does, as do all those who suffer online abuse. It’s because Canadians deserve impartiality from the Governor General, both real and perceived."
Philippe Lagassé is an associate professor at Carleton University. He’s the co-editor of Canada and the Crown: Essays on Constitutional Monarchy (2014) and The Crown and Parliament (2015).
Read more: https://macdonaldlaurier.ca/the-governor-general-deserves-better-but-we-deserve-impartiality-philippe-lagasse-for-inside-policy/
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