The Influence of Media Framing in a Participatory Democracy: The Genetic Non-Discrimination Act

Genetic Non-Discrimination legislation arrived in Canada almost a decade after the US, UK, EU and Australia. Its birth was fraught: it took 5 legislative attempts, and finally succeeded against the opposition of a majority PM, Justice Minister, and Cabinet, not to mention a Supreme Court of Canada Challenge. This important legislation received little coverage in the press, and when it did, it was often at the urging of two opposing factions: civil society groups (Huntington’s Society Canada, the Centre for Jewish and Israeli Affairs, Breast Cancer Canada) versus the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (CLHIA). Intense political lobbying was conducted by both parties, but a unique element of the civil society organizations was to promote a citizen writing campaign. In an analysis of media covering the Genetic Non-Discrimination Act (GNDA), or Bill S-201 (2017). I aim to investigate the effects of media framing in adequately informing the public about the GNDA. To do so, I conducted a literature review to identify key features of a participatory democracy and features impacting framing. Then, I developed a corpus of 88 articles, and identified 9 key pieces of media, including articles, YouTube videos, and opinion pieces. I analyzed how media framing influenced the dissemination of information regarding the GNDA. By shedding light on the media's pivotal role in creating an informed public within the realm of health policy, I underscore the importance and responsibility of media, and its potential impact on effective participatory democracy from flourishing.