Liberal leader sponsors petition critics say could kill Canadian journalism
by Clayton DeMaine
Arielle Kayabaga, the Liberal Deputy House Leader, sponsored a petition that critics say could make documenting failed Liberal policies illegal.
Liberal deputy House leader is distancing herself from the contents of a petition she sponsored, which critics are saying could stifle independent journalism and be used to prevent Canadians from seeing the consequences of failed Liberal policies.
Arielle Kayabaga, London West’s Liberal MP, sponsored a petition to the government of Canada, which calls for a new law making it an offence to “knowingly record in public” anyone who is “experiencing” homelessness, a mental health crisis, “significant impairment” from drugs and alcohol, or “experiencing another prescribed circumstance that substantially increases the person’s vulnerability to exploitation or serious harm from public exposure.”
The petition, which was opened September 10, 2026, was started by a Regina, Saskatchewan resident, Callie Parisien and sponsored by Kayabaga, posits that recording such individuals and publishing the footage could “increase stigmatization” and “allow those that mean them harm to find them.”
Some commentators online argue that if the petition were enacted into law, it could be used by Liberals to “hide their failures” and ban street journalism that exposes the cultural decay in Canada.
