Deputies rushed to bring more than 100 amendments to the cyberspace bill to meet a government-imposed deadline, sparking accusations of secrecy and legislative violations. There were intense exchanges between MPs in the cultural heritage committee on Tuesday night, as they voted on dozens of amendments to the bill, which would update the law on broadcasting to include streaming platforms. Many of the amendments – including those proposed by the government – were passed without debate, which means that their content was not described to the members of the committee who attended the committee. Members of the committee, who voted until midnight on amendments, say they were not informed of their content until Tuesday morning. Michael Geist, University of Ottawa’s University of Ottawa Research Chair in Internet Law, says Canadians will be horrified to see the committee rushing to revise the bill in a single day. The Committee on Cultural Heritage was given until Tuesday night to discuss the amendments to the bill, after the government imposed a resolution on the allocation of time to pass it through the stage of the committee of the Communities. This Canadian Press report was first published on June 15, 2022.
