B.C. Indigenous chiefs call on Meta and Trudeau to end the news ban on Canadian social media

The Union of B.C. Indigenous Chiefs (UBCIC) joined calls against the news ban on Meta’s social media platforms on Monday.

Meta — the parent company of Facebook and Instagram — made the decision to remove news from its platforms in protest of Bill C-18. The bill, which has yet to come into effect, would force companies like Meta and Google to pay Canadian news media for stories published on their platforms.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, B.C. Premier David Eby, and more have recently called on Meta to reverse the ban to ensure more Canadians can see up-to-date wildfire news.

UBCIC President Grand Chief Stewart Phillip says people’s lives area being affected while governments and corporations are taking a political approach, and wants to see people put first while dealing with a “dangerous and traumatizing” wildfire situation.

“Social media has become a community organizing tool that has a relied-upon, easy infrastructure for sharing news. We don’t know the long-lasting effect yet, but we already know that not being able to share news has communities disoriented and puts lives at risk. Government emergency websites and text notification warnings just don’t have the same reach and up to date information as social media does,” he said.

Chief Marilyn Slett says rural communities like her own have grown to rely on social media when trying to keep up to date in emergency situations.

“The government primarily uses remote technology to determine weather conditions in our community; there is no one here on the ground. We are our own messengers, and Facebook is a pivotal tool for getting urgent messages out.”

B.C. has seen a record-breaking wildfire season, with evacuation orders and alerts going out on a nightly basis in some weeks. The province has seen over 1.8 million hectares of land scorched by countless fires, as nearly 400 blazes remain active in the province.