News release from the ICBA and the AEG

AEG and ICBA Take on Trudeau Government’s Flawed Bill C-59

Earlier this week, the Alberta Enterprise Group (AEG) and the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association (ICBA) jointly filed a constitutional challenge against the federal government, over its new ‘Greenwashing’ law which unreasonably restricts free speech.

The challenge, filed in the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta, targets sections 236 and 239 of Bill C-59, the Fall Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2023, which amended the Competition Act in ways that severely limit the business community’s ability to discuss environmental impacts. These provisions impose unreasonable restrictions on the dissemination of truthful and fair-minded information, striking at the heart of free expression and open debate in Canada.

“This case is about protecting the free flow of information and ideas – the cornerstone of a free and democratic society,” said Chris Gardner, ICBA President and CEO. “This is a direct attack on free expression and an egregious overreach by the Trudeau government – it’s a slippery slope when we start to rely on a government department to police legitimate debate and dialogue on important public policy matters.”

“These regulations pre-emptively ban even truthful, reasonable, and defensible discussion unless businesses can meet a government-imposed standard of what is the truth.” said Catherine Brownlee, AEG President. “Important information for the public to consider is prohibited by the Act if it is not approved by some opaque verification process that the government has not defined.”

ICBA and AEG believe that the amendments violate fundamental Charter rights and undermine Canada’s ability to foster economic growth and responsible resource development. The two associations are committed to fighting for the principles of free expression and informed public discourse, which are essential to a vibrant economy and a healthy democracy. This legal challenge underscores AEG and ICBA’s dedication to supporting the businesses and workers whose skill and innovation drive a large part of Canada’s prosperity.

One of the most troubling aspects of the law is its one-sided application. “While businesses are gagged, critics of resource development remain free to make negative or unverified claims without facing similar scrutiny,” said Mike Martens, President of ICBA Alberta. “This creates a lopsided marketplace of ideas, where one essential participant – the business community – is effectively silenced.”

A copy of the filing can be found HERE.

About AEG

The Alberta Enterprise Group is the only group of its kind that puts direct action for Alberta business at its core. AEG is a community of Alberta business leaders who believe in driving change and building a brighter, more prosperous future for all Albertans. By sharing information, advocating for Alberta business, and building bridges to new markets, AEG provides a voice to members on important issues facing business today. AEG, putting your business first.  https://albertaenterprisegroup.com/

About ICBA

The Independent Contractors and Businesses Association (ICBA), is the largest construction association in Canada, representing more than 4,500 members and client companies. ICBA is one of the leading independent providers of group health and retirement benefits in western Canada, supporting more than 300,000 Canadians. ICBA has chapters in both British Columbia and Alberta. www.icba.ca

By Didi Rankovic

The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is now incorporating teaching influencers how to “fact check” into its activities.
UNESCO claims that influencers have become “primary sources of news and cultural information” around the world – which prompted it to carry out a survey into how these online personalities verify the “news” they present.

Related: World Leaders Sign New Censorship Declaration at UN Event While Secretary-General António Guterres Pushed for Increased Online Censorship

Citizens in UN member-countries may or may not be happy that this is how their taxpayer money funding the world organization is being spent these days. But UNESCO is not only conducting surveys; it is also developing a training course for said influencers (which are also interchangeably referred to as content creators in press releases).

It’s meant to teach them not only to “report misinformation, disinformation and hate speech” but also to collaborate with legacy media and these outlets’ journalists, in order to “amplify fact-based information.”

The survey, “Behind the screens,” was done together with researchers from the US Bowling Green State University. 500 influencers from 45 countries took part, and the key findings, UNESCO said, are that 63 percent of them “lack rigorous and systematic fact-checking protocols” – but also, that 73% said they “want to be trained.”

This UN agency also frames the results as showing that respondents are “struggling” with disinformation and hate speech and are “calling for more training.”

UNESCO is justifying its effort to teach influencers to “rigorously” check facts by referring to its media and information literacy mandate. The report laments that mainstream media has become “only the third most common source (36.9%) for content creators, after their own experience and their own research and interviews.”

It would seem content creators/influencers are driven by common sense, but UNESCO wants them to forge closer ties with journalists (specifically those from legacy, i.e., traditional media – UNESCO appears very eager to stress that multiple times.)

Related: United Nations Development Program Urges Governments to Push Digital ID

Under the guise of concern, the agency also essentially warns creators/influencers that they should be better aware of regulations and “international standards” that pertain to digital media – in order to avoid “legal uncertainty” that exposes them to “prosecution and conviction in some countries.”

And now, UNESCO and US-based Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas have launched a one-month course which is currently involving 9,000 people from 160 countries. The goal is to train them to “address disinformation and hate speech and provide them with a solid grounding in global human rights standards.”

The initiative looks like an attempt to get “traditional” journalists to influence the influencers, and try to prop up their outlets, that are experiencing an erosion in trust among their audiences.

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