Trudeau is blaming Meta for the devastating effects of his internet censorship bill

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• By Sheila Gunn Reid

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This is just an excerpt from The Ezra Levant Show. To see new, ad-free episodes, which air Monday - Friday @ 8 p.m. ET | 6 p.m. MT, become a subscriber to RebelNews+. This episode originally aired on August 22, 2023.

On last night’s episode of The Ezra Levant Show, guest host Tamara Ugolini spoke on how the Trudeau Liberals’ policies have both made the cost of living skyrocket and have catastrophically blocked access to information from Canadians when they need it the most:

See, the luxury of simply being able to afford to put gas in your car to get to and from work, heat your home with reliable fossil fuels or of course, afford groceries that need to be transported across our vast country for stocking is becoming out of reach for Canadians who emphasize how unbearable the cost of living and the crisis have become in recent years with viral TikToks and other short clips posted on various social media platforms. They depict the breadth of disparity felt by those just starting out to those who need to feed and clothe their children.

Tamara played a clip of a young woman speaking on how she is struggling to afford living in Canada:

So I live in Ontario and I need someone to tell me the pros and cons of living in America because at this point, Canada just ain't it, it's just like not it anymore, like the the cost of living. It's just, it's too much. The wages are staying the same. I can't afford to move out. I'm 24 and I'm embarrassed that I can't move out. I can't. So what am I supposed to do? Where, where am I supposed to go? What are the pros and cons of America? And everyone's like, ‘oh, Canada is so great this and that…’ It's not anymore. Free health care? You know how long it takes to see a mental health professional in Canada? A year. Dermatologist? A year. I might as well pay for private health care. The wait list is so long, like you don't even get the adequate help that you need.

Tamara spoke on a specific policy that is already starting to negatively affect Canadians:

The one that becomes a clear example of catastrophe is none other than Bill C-18, otherwise known as the Online News Act, which is legislation that has caused social media giant Meta which owns Facebook and Instagram to block a wide range of news links on their platforms. It effectively ceases Canadians' ability to access any and all news on their platforms… And while it hasn't been officially enacted yet, it will be any day. Instead of repealing this piece of legislation that was condemned as arbitrary and ambiguously worded, Trudeau shifted blame when he was questioned recently about the inability of Canadians in fire-engulfed regions to access timely and accurate news about the rapidly evolving situation.

She played a clip of Justin Trudeau blaming Canadian’s lack of access to information on social media companies for the effects of his bill:

Local news is so important and the work that people are doing to share messages and keep people informed with safe, up-to-date information is unbelievably essential to keeping Canadians safe. That's why, and I'm gonna make a comment on this, It is so inconceivable that a company like Facebook is choosing to put corporate profits ahead of ensuring that local news organizations can get up-to-date information to Canadians and reach them where Canadians spend a lot of their time online, on social media, on Facebook. Facebook made billions of dollars in profits over the past years, including off of Canadians, and we recently passed legislation that says, ‘Facebook, if you're going to be sharing news or work done by Canadian journalists or local news, you have to make sure they're compensated for it fairly.’ Instead of making sure that local journalists are fairly paid for keeping Canadians informed on things like wildfires, Facebook is blocking news from its sites in a larger picture. That's bad for democracy because democracy depends on people being able to trust high-quality journalism of all sorts of different perspectives and points of view. But right now in an emergency situation where up-to-date, local information is more important than ever, Facebook's putting corporate profits ahead of people's safety, ahead of supporting quality local journalism. This is not the time for that.

With news blocked on social media because of his legislation, Justin Trudeau rails against Facebook for "putting corporate profits ahead of people's safety" as wildfires burn in parts of Canada.

Tell Trudeau to repeal Bill C-11 and C-18: https://t.co/MiSqptmdu0 pic.twitter.com/qoygPRaqQr

— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) August 21, 2023

Tamara concluded:

The ability of Trudeau to remain out of touch with his own failures is pretty amazing, isn't it? Canadians and the public both deserve and need access to credible news. The government's attempt to mandate payment from social media platforms that enable this access actually contradicts basic freedoms and hinders freedom of the press by way of media communications.