Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I would like to tell my colleague that I have not changed provinces. This is a virtual meeting, so we are everywhere and nowhere at the same time. That's the magic of the virtual world we are in right now, unfortunately. We will meet again in person one day.
Mr. Chair, I'm not getting off track at all, despite what my colleague thinks. I am pleased that you are allowing me to continue. The very basis of Mr. Housefather's motion is that the proposed section 4.1 be removed. So there is a direct link, otherwise we would not be having this discussion right now.
Perhaps the minister made a mistake when he asked that the proposed section 4.1 be removed. If that is the case, and if he is acting in good faith, let him admit his mistake. Let's stop the demagoguery of pitting culture against freedom of expression and attacking the Conservatives. Let's go back to the idea of taking a break for a few days. Now it is almost the weekend. We could come back to it next week. Afterwards, we will have a constituency week. As soon as possible, before the summer, let's give the Minister of Justice a chance to respond. Then we can continue.
Unfortunately, right now, I sense that the Liberals do not want us to take this break. This makes me think that they know that the Minister of Justice will not provide them with a favourable opinion, but will instead say, as we believe, that removing the proposed section 4.1 is an attack on users. At the very least, this suggests to me their true intention as to the unanimous consent that will be required to make any subsequent amendments that are necessary. That is what the motion states: we will continue to move forward amendment by amendment and we will see in the end. We all know full well how this works. We will need unanimous consent to fix it, which we will not get when the time comes, because the Liberals will be able to block the process. That's what they have been doing for the last two weeks. They are trying to make us the bad guys on this, but it is not working. The responses and letters from the members of the public show that. I have never seen such a response from the public to my office in my life. This issue does not seem to be percolating in the media in Quebec, but it is making Canadians react on the ground.
We know that the small players are fighting against the big players. The challenge is that people are on social media. Whether we like social media or not, as politicians and public figures, we have no choice but to use them. We have to find a certain balance. We can't deny that they exist. We have to find a fair and equitable way to legislate the area without attacking the users.
This brings me back to my colleague Mr. Housefather's motion, and I will conclude on that. I hope he won't be offended. I took the trouble at the outset to say it and I sincerely believe that his objective was a noble one. At all the meetings of the committee, he has always looked for compromise. I would even say that he almost went against the will of the government at times. Here is the motion:
That the Committee: 1) Will consider all amendments proposed on Bill C-10 and should points 2 and 3 below not have been completed at the time the amendments on the Bill have all been considered, the Committee will pause in its deliberations and not dispose of the Bill until points 2 and 3 below have been completed.
2) Ask the Minister of Justice to provide a revised Charter Statement on Bill C-10, as soon as possible, focusing on whether the Committee’s changes to the Bill related to programs uploaded by users of social media services have impacted the initial Charter statement provided, in particular as relates to Section 2(b) of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
3) Invite the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Canadian Heritage accompanied by relevant department officials to appear before the Committee as soon as possible to discuss the revised Charter statement and any implications of amendments made by the Committee to the Bill.
4) Shall take all votes necessary to dispose of the Bill, once points 2 and 3 are completed and all amendments have been considered.
I apologize to the interpreters if I read the motion quickly, but I see that time is running out. In any case, I would like to believe that they have the English version in front of them.
Point 4 of the motion is where the problem lies, Mr. Chair. The problem is that it's going to take unanimous consent to make amendments, which we will not receive.
I say, I repeat and I am sure: we would be making a serious mistake if we left the door open for the Liberals to allow the committee to go ahead without any guarantee that we could ultimately make amendments if the advice of the Minister of Justice confirms that there is an attack on freedom of expression or on the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. We know what sorts of comments the Prime Minister and the Minister of Canadian Heritage have already made in the media about people's use of the Internet. The discourse is self-righteous. We have also seen it in the little attack on my colleague Ms. Harder, in the House of Commons, when the minister attacked her personal convictions. If you don't think like the Liberals, your way is not the right way. Unfortunately, I cannot accept that, and I will continue to stand up for freedom of expression.
Mr. Chair, thank you for the opportunity to speak to the motion introduced by Mr. Housefather today.