Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
We heard one of the witnesses suggest earlier that if Canadians couldn't view their news online, they should simply go to the library. It certainly sounded a bit like a “let them eat cake” moment when it comes to Canadians' ability to access content. In this world, whether it's on the devices we carry or on the computers we use, there's been a democratization of information that I think has been quite extraordinary, probably, in the history of the world, although I think you can look back at different points in time and see other innovations.
Certainly I hear all the time from constituents who are incredibly concerned about government overreach and about its wanting to control certain aspects of what that looks like, whether it's direct or whether it's indirect.
Mr. Geist, in terms of Bill C-11 and Bill C-18, one has had a massive impact on Canadians' ability to see news content. I've heard many companies suggest that they just want to be able to share their content on those platforms and be able to continue to get their content in front of the eyes of Canadians. Then you have Bill C-11, which is kind of like this backdoor censorship idea, a mechanism for control within the bureaucracy.
I'm wondering if you could comment specifically on those two pieces of legislation and on the chilling effect that they have on freedom of speech and on freedom of expression across this country.