House Ethics Committee aims to leave strong roadmap, impetus for next Parliament to regulate social media, big data
The House Access to Information, Privacy, and Ethics Committee will be working to draft an international “book of best practices” for combatting online misinformation and predatory data practices after the international committee gathering in Ottawa last week, says chair, Conservative MP Bob Zimmer. Legislators from 11 countries participated in the International Grand Committee on Big […]
Social media can be powerful campaign tool, but Canadian politicians have much to learn
OTTAWA—From the moment we heard about her, the radical young woman from New York who dared issue a primary challenge to a long-sitting House Democrat, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has illustrated that social media can be a powerful campaign tool—if used correctly. Candidates for our upcoming federal election should be taking notes, because their social media game […]
Social media execs face grilling at Ottawa summit, as global consensus on need for government regulation grows
Representatives from Google, Twitter, and Facebook, in particular, faced relentless grilling from elected officials representing 11 countries during an international meeting on data privacy in Ottawa on Tuesday, with officials speaking to a growing global consensus on the need for governments to co-ordinate internationally to regulate social media platforms. “What we’re seeing from the expertise […]
Digital charter a missed opportunity to spur real change
On May 21, Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains gave a couple more details about the government’s new Digital Charter, first announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Paris on May 16. The initial announcement by Mr. Trudeau came a day after his endorsement of the Christchurch Call to Action—an international pledge to eliminate terrorist and violent […]
Social media companies that violate new political ad rules, even inadvertently, will be fined, minister suggests
Canada has a new regime for online political ads heading into October’s election, but in an interview last week the minister responsible expressed some frustration with certain social media companies’ approach to the new system. Instead of agreeing to implement a registry of all campaign ads, as is required by the newly passed election-reform law […]
Scribes, politicos to rub elbows at Politics and the Pen
The 2018 Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing will be unveiled at the annual Politics and the Pen showcase May 15, which typically brings together more than 500 writers, politicians, lobbyists, and staffers. This year’s gathering will be hosted by Democratic Institutions Minister Karina Gould and Conservative MP Erin O’Toole. The event at the Château […]
The EU and Canada: a transatlantic partnership with a strong digital dimension
Relations between the European Union and Canada are probably stronger now than they have ever been before. The Strategic Partnership Agreement and the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, both signed in October 2016, show our mutual commitment to an open, democratic, sustainable, and progressive international order. I am delighted that an EU-Canada digital dialogue is […]
Abridging the freedom: Trump and the media
As cockeyed as the organizational chart of Washington’s power distribution is these days, perhaps the most altered relationship is the one between the president and the press. While Donald Trump’s relentless lies, belligerence and intractability have skewed the conventional dynamic between this Oval Office and Congress, those same factors, exacerbated by his status as an […]
Confessions of a former digital utopian
Consider this a confession of a former digital utopian. When I was first elected as an MP, I believed that Parliamentarians needed to protect the “open” internet and embrace what we thought of as the digital commons. I swallowed the Silicon Valley line that government regulation would impede innovation. What was at stake was the […]
Soldiers carrying assault rifles in Khalsa Day Parade in ragged formation on a civilian street, not good
Re: “‘Inappropriate’ or not, disregard for the rules shouldn’t be put on parade,” (The Hill Times, May 8, p. 10). Scott Taylor is correct in stating that what upset people about the soldiers marching in the Khalsa Day Parade was the image of Canadian soldiers casually displaying lethal weapons in ragged formation on a civilian […]
