For a few days this week, Prime Minister Mark Carney made his first visit to parts of the Okanagan since becoming Prime Minister. He attended both private events and made public announcements, including new funding for forest companies.
I believe it is both important and positive when a Prime Minister or Premier takes the time to visit a region in person. It is through these visits and direct meetings with local citizens, stakeholders, and organizations that problems can be identified and, hopefully, solutions found.
A recent example is the serious wildfire threat at Drought Hill in Peachland, which resulted in the evacuation of roughly 400 families and the temporary closure of Highway 97 and the Connector. My sincere thanks go to all our first responders who did an incredible job fighting this fire. Thanks to their efforts, no homes were lost and, most importantly, no lives were taken. Their work is deeply appreciated by all.
As is often the case during emergencies involving evacuations and road closures, communication is critical. Many will know that, due to the Liberals鈥� former Bill C-18鈥斺�淎n Act respecting online communications platforms鈥濃�擣acebook and Instagram have banned Canadian news content from being shared on their platforms.
This has created serious challenges for communicating during wildfire situations and has been devastating for many local news organizations, which have lost viewers and, by extension, revenue. Some of these organizations have written open letters to the Liberal government, urging them to repeal Bill C-18.
Returning to the Prime Minister鈥檚 visit, after announcing new funding programs that the Liberal government hopes will support the forest industry, he was grilled by members of the local media. I want to commend the local reporters who were present and asked tough but fair questions. This was a strong example of the importance of local journalism.
One journalist asked the Prime Minister whether he would consider repealing Bill C-18, pointing out that 鈥淏ill C-18 stands in our way to get back onto Facebook and Instagram鈥� when reporting about wildfires on social media platforms.
The Prime Minister did not say whether he would consider the request, but what matters is that he heard the concern firsthand from a local journalist. His predecessor was arrogantly dismissive of this issue, so we can hope that this problem鈥攃reated by the Liberal government鈥攚ill now be taken more seriously, as it deserves to be.
From my perspective, and that of the official Conservative Opposition, we remain opposed to Bill C-18 and believe it must be repealed as soon as possible.
This leads to my question for this week: What is your 鈥榞o to鈥� source for the latest news and media information?
While you can鈥檛 read the local journalist鈥檚 article on Facebook, you can share your answer on this week鈥檚 question on my Facebook Page.
I also can be reached directly at Dan.Albas@parl.gc.ca or toll-free at 1-800-665-8711.
