Canadian Commission on Democratic Expression

The Canadian Commission on Democratic Expression is a three-year initiative, led by the Public Policy Forum that aims to bring a concerted and disciplined review of the state of Canadian democracy and how it can be strengthened.

The centerpiece of the initiative is a small, deliberative Commission which will draw on available and original research, the insights of stakeholders and the deliberations of a representative national citizen assembly to assess what to do about online harms and how to buttress the public good.

This initiative grew out of earlier insights about the relationship of digital technologies to Canada’s democracy covered by the Public Policy Forum’s ground-breaking report, The Shattered Mirror and its subsequent interdisciplinary research outlined in the Democracy Divided report (with UBC) and through the Digital Democracy Project partnership with McGill university.

The initiative is delivered in partnership with MASS LBP and the Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy at McGill University’s Max Bell School of Public Policy, who are executing the national citizen assemblies and research program, respectively.

The initiative will run from April 2020 to March 2023.

The Canadian Commission on Democratic Expression

The Canadian Commission on Democratic Expression was created to examine and provide informed advice on how to maximize participation in democratic expression in the digital sphere and how to mitigate any obstacles to this free exchange of reliable information, including but not limited to measures to counter hate and disinformation.

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The McGill University Research Portal

Led by McGill’s Centre for Media, Technology and Democracy, the research program aims to inform the Commission and its stakeholders on key issues pertaining to the democratic harms of digital technologies; to support the Commission’s deliberations and the work of the national citizen assemblies, and to respond to their needs throughout the deliberative process.

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The Citizens' Assembly

Run by MASS LBP, the national citizen assemblies, each comprising 42 randomly selected volunteers will advise the Commission on its values and priorities with respect to digital technology and democratic expression.

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Citizens Assembly