Trudeau urges discussion with 'people we disagree with' just weeks after crackdown on peaceful protesters

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivered a keynote address on current geopolitical issues and the state of democracies during his European trip on Wednesday, where he said that "democracy hasn’t exactly been at its best these past few years."

Trudeau urged that Western countries "recommit ourselves to strengthening our democracy," and that issues such as "apathy, cynicism, misinformation and disinformation, declining voter turnout, mistrust in our institutions" be tackled.

"It's our job to rebuild that trust, to give people reasons to have faith in our institutions, to get involved in civic life. We can't let fear, anxiety, and envy overcome the hope the earnest optimism that is necessary for democracies to thrive," he said.

Trudeau focused again on "fight[ing] the flood of disinformation and manipulation," saying that social media has a role in enabling hate speech and misinformation. The topic was one of the main topics in a speech delivered earlier on Wednesday by the prime minister.

Trudeau discussed briefly the Liberals' plan to introduce a new and improved Bill C-36 to amend the Criminal Code and the Canadian Human Rights Act "to address hate propaganda, hate crimes, and hate speech." The original Bill was given its first reading in June of last year, but died after an election was called.

Trudeau said there was "more work to be done on fighting systemic racism, on gender equality, on defending LGBTQ2 communities, reconciliation with Indigenous peoples."

Trudeau said: "diversity of ideas helps us learn from one another. Talking to people who think differently from us is how we challenge ourselves, and challenging ourselves is how we grow."