North Island-Powell River MP Rachel Blaney’s motion regarding support for local, rural and community media in combatting foreign interference in Canadian elections has been denied in the House of Commons.
“We need more support for rural, remote, Indigenous and ethnic communities and their local media to prevent foreign interference in Canadian elections,” stated Blaney, in a media release on November 14. “When people cannot get accurate, credible information from a trusted source, misinformation spreads. This has a significant impact on our elections, which undermines our democratic society.”
Blaney was asking the government to provide support to local media that serves vulnerable communities, which may be more exposed to misinformation and foreign interference. Recently, Canadian intelligence officials warned the government that China targeted Canada during the 2019 federal election, attempting to undermine the democratic process, according to the release.
“We need the government to support a robust plan to combat foreign interference and address disinformation campaigns,” added Blaney. “The people I have spoken with say there aren’t enough resources for rural and remote communities to fight against such activities. They see a good solution as providing educational programs and taking an all of society approach in solving disinformation.”
Blaney stated that a key in fighting misinformation and foreign interference in elections is local media, which supports smaller rural communities that could be most impacted by foreign interference.
“We are fighting for our local media; if our local, rural and community media aren’t supported in a sustainable way, those trusted sources can be undermined, and that takes away our right to be included in the democratic process,” she added. “Passing this motion would have been good for Canadians and good for democracy.”
The full motion reads: That, given that, Canadians, particularly rural Canadians, ethnic groups and Indigenous peoples, are vulnerable to misinformation campaigns, both foreign and domestic, to undermine our democracy, the Federal Government must improve its strategy to support these specific groups, the House call on the government to employ a whole-of-society approach to counter disinformation and build societal resistance, with funding for local community media outlets, to ensure vulnerable communities are protected.
