Shared on behalf of Perrin Beatty:

Dear Colleagues:

I am writing today to make you aware of an urgent matter which requires your attention no later than Monday morning:

Just before the weekend, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce was alarmed to learn of a motion that will be brought to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage and which could have a profound chilling effect on the work that we all do on behalf of Canadians. The rights of both our organizations themselves and of our members are at stake.

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Chris Bittle, M.P. (St. Catherines) has indicated he will propose a motion at committee which would compel Alphabet/Google and Meta/Facebook to provide all third-party communications (emails, texts, etc.) and presentations and research they may have sponsored or received in relation to any government legislation since 2020. It also requires a list of all third parties that have received funding from the companies for the purposes of advocacy, engagement, awareness campaigns, and research with respect to regulation by Canada since January 1, 2020.

My purpose in writing is not to urge you to take any specific position on the bill itself or to try to shape your opinion on the companies involved, but to alert you to the serious precedent that is being set.

In our view, the motion represents a major fishing operation that poses a serious threat to the privacy of Canadians and to their rights to hold and express opinions on public issues. In addition, adopting it would put a chill on the legitimate work of thousands of associations, chambers of commerce, unions, social action groups, not-for-profits, and private enterprises across the country. It is impossible to know who the next target of this type of government-sponsored intimidation would be. The precedent of accepting this motion would lower the threshold for similar action against any other organisation whose views displease the government of the day.

The committee meets on Monday March 20, at 11:00 a.m. (Eastern). Because of the short time between the release of the motion and the next meeting of the committee, the vast majority of Canadians and organisations whose democratic rights are at stake are unaware of it and have had no chance to make their voices heard.

I urge you to contact your M.P.s and express your concerns. Attached for reference is the Canadian Chamber’s letter to the members of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage, which was delivered on Sunday, March 19. If you would also like to contact the committee, you may do so via the Clerk, Mr. Michael MacPherson at CHPC@parl.gc.ca.

Many thanks for any support you can provide on this urgent issue.

Sincerely,

Hon. Perrin Beatty, P.C., O.C.
President and CEO

Canadian Chamber of Commerce