SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 71

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 13, 2022 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 71 - May/13/22
Mr. Chris Bittle
  • May/13/22 10:02:59 a.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-18 
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my Conservative friends. I guess they miss me. I am at home, participating online, and they do not want to hear me for 15 minutes. They want to hear me for the full 30. I know they enjoy my speeches. I get a lot of feedback in real time. Unfortunately, I cannot hear that real-time feedback at the moment. I am sure they are listening attentively to what I have to say. I appreciate the opportunity to add and—
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Context: House Hansard - 71 - May/13/22
Mr. Sébastien Lemire
  • May/13/22 1:02:36 p.m.
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  • Re: Bill C-18 
Mr. Speaker, that is the key right there. Journalists are democracy watchdogs. A lot of elected representatives do not like interacting with journalists. They are afraid of them. I think the primary responsibility of elected representatives is to be accountable and to inform the people. We are lucky that accountability requirements exist. There are other scandals too, such as the sponsorship scandal and the WE scandal. Fortunately, journalists work very hard to cover the work we do in the House. I see this in the House. How could we raise all the issues in our speeches and our committee work? Ultimately, if we really want to pressure the government to change things, we will need help from journalists and the platform they have. Media organizations evolve. Podcasts are a good example. Fortunately, or unfortunately, meaningful changes in our Parliament are often the result of ideas that come from journalists. Consider the example of the prayer in the House of Commons, which we have debated. Is reciting a prayer to just any God still relevant? Obviously, the answer is no, but journalists covered the issue, and this social debate affirms these steps towards secularism, a fundamental issue. There are so many examples showing that journalists help move our society forward. Our society needs journalists. I thank them for their work.
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