Cory Morgan: Any Good in Ottawa’s Online Harms Bill Is Overshadowed by Its ‘Hate Speech’ Provisions

Commentary It’s been a long time in coming and now the government has finally tabled a new version of its Online Harms Act (Bill C-63). The original version of the bill was C-36, which died on the order paper when the 2021 federal election was called. It’s incontrovertible that the internet with its unregulated nature has caused some terrible harm to some people through online bullying, proliferation of child pornography, hate incitement, and the spread of misinformation. But it’s debatable whether the government should try to intervene and regulate the internet. If it’s agreed the government should step in, the next debate is on how to do it and how far it will go. The balance between protecting vulnerable people on the internet and egregiously infringing on free speech and expression is a delicate one....