Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Just following up on that and some of the aspersions that have been placed on us by people saying that we're not interested in culture, protecting culture and being part of culture, I have my membership for the National Arts Centre here. Do any other members have one for the national art gallery? I'm an MP and I don't live here, but I have a membership and I support the national art gallery in Ottawa. I'm also a regular attender at the National Arts Centre for plays. I do that within Ottawa. I attend The Gladstone theatre here in Ottawa and the Ottawa Little Theatre.
Those aspersions I'm taking pretty personally, because back in our communities we go to these, but do you as MPs on both sides of this...? Are you members of the national art gallery? Do you go to the National Arts Centre? That aspersion cast on us as Conservatives by saying that we don't support culture, I have a problem with that.
We've quoted many experts tonight—many experts—and I would like you to take just a minute a listen to an expert who I would like to quote. It's through a letter from a constituent I have never heard from before.
She sent me this: “Though my letter is intended for the Government of Canada as a whole, it is [up] to you that my letter must find keeping. First let me begin by apologizing for an inept understanding of [how] complicated cogs and wheels that run the country I reside in. But much like I don't understand the intricacies of how a cellphone works, it doesn't mean that, as a long-time user, I wouldn't be unable to critique it's basic functions and form opinions on whether it is working for me.”
She continues: “I can tell when my cellphone is working, and likewise, I can tell when it is broken. Equally as a lifetime resident of this beautiful country I have felt the failures of my government. I'll be honest with you, this is the first time in my life I've felt such a need to reach out to and inform you of your failings. I don't wish to be rude or crass, simply poignant and direct. With this Covid-19 Pandemic causing so much confusion and destruction in the world I can't say that I know the right move, I cannot even comprehend the stress that must be...[for] those who are expected to make those decisions.”
She states: “And now my government has placed”—or broken—“the final straw, the thing I cannot sit idly by and allow [is] Bill C-10.”
As well, she says: “If allowed to pass, my government would effectively have the legal right to police social media content, produce and distribute approved [agendas, have] propagandas, and have full power of censorship. Slipping it through the [crack of confusion] during a time of extreme [COVID] citizens...amidst a crumbling of political trust, my Federal Government decided now would be the time to gain control over media and internet content regulation. As I've mentioned, I know little in the way of government operations, but...[t]his feels wrong. This feels dictatorial and in fact, in its most basic form and definition Bill C-10 IS non-constitutional. How can it possibly be allowed to pass when it goes against the basic...rights of free speech and expression...that self-same government was elected to protect?”
She adds: “While my government claims that those changes Bill C-10 represents will only apply to 'professional content' this bill would effectively allow them to censor and regulate social media providers and users in Canada. I was shocked upon reading the words of Peter Menzies, the former CRTC commissioner, in an article available on the National Post that said that “[Bill C-10] doesn't just infringe on free expression, it constitutes a full-blown assault upon it...and, through it, [to] the foundations of democracy.”
Finally, she says that, as with some other things federally, our voice “must be respected and there must be consequences for...breaking those...Constitutional Rights by their 'trusted' and elected leaders. I used to feel pride in being a Canadian, and I still do feel [we have] pride to be a part of this land and country. But I do not feel [proud] being a Canadian Citizen under this government. I feel swindled. I feel overlooked. I feel betrayed. And I call for...change. Please restore my faith in this government. Stop the crumbling”—