I was one of the thousands of Canadians across the country marching in the streets to stand out publicly and say no to Stephen Harper’s Terrorist Act Bill C-51. Our numbers in Victoria were reported by the RCMP at 1,500 people.
Thousands of Canadians hit the streets and the very industry that should be concerned with freedom to cover and report gave these marches a 20 second blip on national and local news coverage. By late Saturday the story was dead.
Yet, two men were detained in Turkey and I heard that same news clip no less than four times on Saturday and again on Sunday. I am an avid CBC radio listener and am so disappointed with the amount of air coverage and time taken to take up the Middle East cause at the expense of neglecting reporting what is happening in Canada.
In our country, Canadians are given 20 seconds. The media should value their freedom of speech or they will regret the airtime given to put the fear of terrorism in Canadians. The industry has virtually been silent on the protests of thousands of Canadians across the country to not only protect our freedom but theirs as well. Who decides the news being reported in this country? What role does all this coverage on ICIS play in war mongering? A recent study from Sweden’s Uppsala University say we are safer now than we were during Iraq War in the ‘90s, so Stephen Harper is the only leader driving this as the biggest threat in history.
We have an election on the horizon and what is going on in the People’s House should be the focus so that Canadians can make an informed vote in the next federal election.
What I know is that the Conservatives are never available for comment and I would like the broadcasters to not cover their campaign. Maybe in the future they will be available to comment.
Jo-Anne Berezanski, North Saanich
