Billboards shouldn't have come down based on mob rule
So let me get this straight, last week we were all supposed to be outraged after Elections Canada said groups advocating on climate change during the federal election might have to register as third parties.
This was seen as an attack on free speech, an attempt to silence people.
Now this week, we are supposed to be outraged that billboards went up across the country in support of Maxime Bernier’s position on immigration. The fact that these billboards are now coming down is a reason for us to applaud a progressive company I’m told.
OK, I don’t get it. Either we believe in free speech and open political debate or we don’t. In the case of the environmental groups, they were simply told that advocating on the issue of climate change during the campaign would mean they would have to register. They weren’t told they couldn’t speak.
I think the third-party rules are ridiculous and should be done away with, but they were passed by a Liberal majority in Parliament and I think I’m in the minority among the general population on this issue. So, if we regulate political speech on taxation policy, for instance, during an election campaign, then we should do so on issues related to the environment. I think, and the evidence would back me up, that you can’t tax your way to prosperity. But our current prime minister disagrees.
It’s a political issue. But so is how we deal with climate change. So, either we have one set of rules for all or none at all. All register or none do.
When it comes to the proBernier ads, there seems to be a double standard. The billboards were not put up by Bernier or his party, for the record, but rather by a group called True North Strong and Free Advertising. They approached Bernier and asked him about placing billboards that read: “Say No to Mass Immigration.”
Bernier had no problem with the billboards going up and neither, originally, did the company that sold the space to the group. Then Pattison Outdoor Advertising said the ads were coming down, they were seen as offensive to some. Suddenly, all those people who believed in free speech last week were against it this week. Even the man supposedly behind the ads, Toronto mining executive Frank Smeenk, was saying they weren’t what he wanted.
So, in the face of public outcry, everyone except Bernier is running away from his immigration plan that would take annual numbers down to about 150,000 new permanent residents per year. The Liberals, meanwhile, took over a system that brought in roughly 250,000 to 280,000 a year under the Conservatives and have moved to ramp it up to 350,000 new permanent residents per year.
Whatever you think of the phrase used in the ad, “Say No to Mass Immigration,” shouldn’t we be able to debate the issue openly? I come from an immigrant family, and I don’t mean that in the “we’re all immigrants” kind of way.
Tracing my family tree in Canada consists of calling my mother.
And fundamentally, I disagree with Bernier. I think we should secure our border against the illegal border crossers that make a mockery of our system, but I’d say 150,000 new permanent residents per year is too low to satisfy the needs of our economy. Is 350,000 the right number?
I don’t know, but as a country we should be able to debate this issue in a real way. Taking down those billboards based on a mob mentality isn’t real debate and Canada deserves better.