Honourable senators, the internet is not only the most powerful space for conducting commerce and for sharing news and information, it is also the most powerful forum for personal communication. Most governments have taken a hands-off approach to regulating or censoring these exchanges. Freedom of speech, dissent, disagreement, criticism and debate are all basic tenets of democracy. As J.F.K. once eloquently declared:

. . . a nation that is afraid to let its people judge the truth and falsehood in an open market is a nation that is afraid of its people.

I know that was then and this is now, but in the age of the internet the basic principles must still apply. In fact, it is even more important that they do, given the relentless flow of information.

Let ideas compete; their merits should win the day. Do battle with bad ideas by offering better ones and use your own judgment. If you don’t like what someone has to say, change the channel, cancel your subscription or take a tech break. You can hit mute if you don’t like my message. As Noam Chomsky argued, if we don’t believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don’t believe in it at all.

What began as a plan to force big tech to financially support Canadian cultural and journalistic sectors has somehow morphed into the possibility of censoring online content, even that created by you and me on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube. The legislation originally exempted personal communications, but that protection was excised from the bill. Even musing about any such censorship is anti-democratic. Many Canadians have clearly called for the government to engage in widespread and genuine public consultation on this issue, and I add my voice to that call. As John Stuart Mill wrote in Of the Liberty of Thought and Discussion back in 1859 — and it applies today:

 . . . we can never be sure that the opinion we are endeavoring to stifle is a false opinion . . . if we were sure, stifling it would be an evil still.

Thank you.