Question Period Note: Digital Citizen Initiative: Special COVID-19 call

As part of the $500 million temporary Emergency Support Fund to Cultural, Heritage and Sport Organizations, the Government announced an investment of $3.5M in citizen focused activities to counter disinformation related to COVID-19. To date, the Government has approved $3.26 million in projects that were submitted by ten civil society organizations. An open call for proposals that closed on July 31, 2020 will result in additional funded projects. This funding will help combat false and misleading COVID-19 information as well as the racism and stigmatization that are often the result.

• Now more than ever, Canadians need to find reliable news and information. We are investing $3.5 million in several projects to help combat false and misleading COVID-19 information as well as the racism and stigmatization that are often the result.
• This isn’t about controlling what citizens read, but rather providing them with the tools and skills to think critically about the information they find online.
• This work is undertaken by civil society organizations that are arms-length from government.

Digital Citizen Initiative
• On January 30, 2019, the Minister of Democratic Institutions announced the Government of Canada’s approach to protecting Canada’s democracy. This includes a $7 million investment by the Department of Canadian Heritage in citizen-focused activities to strengthen citizens’ critical thinking about online disinformation, their ability to be more resilient against online harms, as well as their ability to get involved in democratic processes.
• In 2019-20, more than 20 projects in the form of civic, news, and digital media literacy offered through third-party activities and programming were funded, ranging from awareness sessions and workshops to development of learning materials to foster digital media and civic awareness.
• Budget 2019 earmarked an additional $19.4 million over four years for the Digital Citizen Initiative (DCI), including funding for: the creation of the Digital Citizen Contribution Program (DCCP), a joint research initiative with the Social Science and Humanities Research Council of Canada and a contribution agreement to support the Public Policy Forum’s (PPF) Digital Democracy Project.
• In 2019-20, the focus for the DCCP was on funding projects to better understand online disinformation and other online harms, how they evolve in a Canadian context and how they impact Canadians differently, as well as understand what success looks like in the building citizen resilience and digital media literacy space, and the impact of these types of activities in a Canadian context. Eight projects were funded.
• In 2020-21, the focus for the DCCP will be on funding projects: to map/predict the next issues and/or types of online disinformation; to further understand the impact of disinformation on diverse and marginalized communities in Canada; to better understand the societal factors and psychological characteristics that motivate individuals to take up the call for online and offline disinformation related activities; and to understand the impacts of a lack of exposure to diverse content online, including understanding how users access reliable news and information in Canada, as well as the impacts of algorithmic systems on the content users are exposed to and consume on online platforms. The application deadline is September 18, 2020. From year to year, the DCI will reassess its focus and will adapt its guidelines accordingly.
Targeted Call to Counter Online Misinformation Related to COVID-19
• On March 13, 2020, the DCI targeted 10 select civil society organizations, from across the country that the program knew from previous projects in the area of combating misinformation. The targeted organizations had six days to apply. The purpose of this special call related to COVID-19 was to build on organizations preexisting projects. Eight organizations were selected. To date, the Government has announced that it had committed $3.26 million of the $3.5 million.
• The second call for proposals for projects aiming to counter disinformation relating to COVID-19 is meant to amplify the current efforts of organizations supporting citizens to think critically about the health information they find online, to identify mis- and disinformation, and limit the impact of racist and/or misleading social media posts relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. The funding will provide time-limited financial assistance of up to $40,000 per project. The application deadline was July 31, 2020.
• This investment is part of the phase I measures providing relief to the cultural, sport and heritage sectors. It will fund activities, such as public awareness tools and online workshops, to help Canadians increase their resilience and be critical of misinformation about COVID -19. Funded projects will reach people nationally and locally, online and offline, in Indigenous and minority communities, in both official languages.

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