July 6, 2020  by

MEDIA: CBC News Network Weekend Business Panel (July, 2020)

Back in the home studio for the CBC News Network Weekend Business Panel, talking NAFTA 2.0, the Atlantic travel bubble, and Facebook advertisers, all hitting the streets in their own way.

Here’s a few thoughts on our discussion.

In a long overdue move, a number of large corporations are boycotting advertising on Facebook for the month of July, in protest of a lack of action against inaccurate, racist, and hateful content; Canada’s banks have joined this initiative.  Facebook appears to be defending its position, however, many are of the view that the Company hasn’t done enough to address longstanding content problems.  Dismissing concerns raised by citizens, corporations, and other groups may well land Facebook in a greater regulatory environment, and it’s fair to say that reasonable people can tell the difference between free speech and hate.  As the US election nears and the temperature continues to rise on a number of diversity issues, there is an opportunity to ask ourselves: what kind of world do we want to live in?  Let’s hope that this boycott is the beginning of a move towards much needed change.

In the category of “what a difference a year makes”, NAFTA 2.0 (or 2.1, depending how you look at it) quietly came into force on July 1st, reminding us that this was a high profile topic in 2019.  While companies continue to focus on COVID-19, industries that will be significantly impacted by new NAFTA provisions should have been actively planning for months, if not longer.  With just four months to the US election, it will be interesting to see what actions Donald Trump might take in an attempt to strengthen his position, given that his voters tend to respond well to a tone of putting other countries in their place.  Might we see tariffs or similar actions on the horizon?

And finally, the launch of the Atlantic travel bubble was met with long lineups and who can blame them?  In what is one of Canada’s most beautiful regions, this approach provides an opportunity for some much needed relief for local travel and tourism industries.  I am fortunate to spend time in Nova Scotia on a regular basis and can attest to the many things to see and do in Atlantic Canada; I hope that I will be able to travel to the Coast again soon!  In the meantime, I hope that local residents have a chance to visit friends and relatives or a place that they’ve been wanting to see or revisit for years.  These are the days to do just that; let’s make them good!

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Thanks for watching and see you again soon, CBC!

Jenifer Bartman
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