The recent contretemps between the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission and Radio-Canada about the use of the n-word during a radio segment reminds us that the CRTC is all about the control of speech. Usually, the commission farms out its censorship to a specialized agency, but this time it did the dirty work itself. Two commissioners dissented, arguing that the CRTC was engaging in censorship without regard to the right to freedom of expression set forth in the Constitution.
As a result of the controversy, more people are becoming aware that they are subject to CRTC censorship.
Back in May 2021, the Canadian chapter of the Internet Society wrote in Le Devoir that Bill C-10, now repackaged as C-11, the Amendments to the Broadcasting Act, vastly expanded the range of “broadcasting” and hence what would need government permission. You can only “broadcast” by virtue of a licence or in conformity to regulation. That is the law: to expand the definition of “broadcasting” is to expand government regulation.
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