Is the Online Harms Act as Orwellian as Margaret Atwood thinks it is? 

Also, immigration is coming up a lot in the news these days. Is the recent media discourse actually….mature?

Clarification: When Jesse reads from Bill C-63 Online Harms Act 17 he says “”A person may, with the Attorney General’s consent, lay an information before a provincial court judge if the person fears on reasonable grounds that another person will commit hate speech.” He meant to say  Section 17 “refers to existing parts of the criminal code that govern hate speech.”

Host: Jesse Brown

Credits: James Nicholson (Producer), Caleb Thompson (Audio Editor and Technical Producer), André Proulx (Production Coordinator), Karyn Pugliese (Editor-in-Chief)

Guest: Ivor Shapiro  

Further reading: 

• Trudeau’s Orwellian online harms bill – The Spectator (UK)
• Margaret Atwood calls online harms bill ‘Orwellian,’ notes potential for abuse – Globe and Mail
• Margaret Atwood, Elon Musk call out Trudeau’s ‘Orwellian’ hate speech legislation – National Post
• Canada’s Online Harms Act is revealing itself to be staggeringly reckless – Globe and Mail
• Finding a Way Forward for Jews and Palestinians in This Terrible Time [VIDEO]  – Centre For Free Expression
• Infectious-disease scientist fired from Winnipeg laboratory surfaces in China – Globe and Mail
• We’re Falling Into Trump’s Trap… Again – Persuasion
• Immigration is making Canada’s housing more expensive. The government was warned 2 years ago – CBC News
• Months after hitting the 40 million mark, Canada’s population is already nearing 41 million – Daily Hive
• Pierre Poilievre pledges to tie immigration levels to homebuilding – Financial Post
• International student charged after alleged voyeurism involving cellphone at U of T residence – CBC News

Sponsors: Rotman, Douglas, Indochino 

If you value this podcast, Support us! You’ll get premium access to all our shows ad free, including early releases and bonus content. You’ll also get our exclusive newsletter, discounts on merch at our store, tickets to our live and virtual events, and more than anything, you’ll be a part of the solution to Canada’s journalism crisis, you’ll be keeping our work free and accessible to everybody.  

You can listen ad-free on Amazon Music—included with Prime.