It's no secret that Canada and the United Kingdom have a very special relationship. I've worked closely over the past few years with members of the Canadian House of Commons to challenge big tech companies over data rights and user privacy. Our common values, shared history, and strong economic ties means that our relationship often feels more like a familial one. And when someone bullies your family, you tend to perk up and take notice.I have been watching with great interest – and dismay – at how Meta and Google have been wheeling their old bullying tactics against Canadians in their coordinated campaign against Bill C-18, otherwise known as the Online News Act. What's more, is that this is not the first time Big Tech has pulled these stunts, as they are running a near identical playbook to the one they used in Australia to try and strong arm the Australian government over its News Media Bargaining Code (NMBC).In the lead up to the passage of Australia's NMBC, both Google and Meta threatened to pull news entirely from their platforms, with Meta following through before ultimately restoring news to Facebook. We now know from Meta whistle-blowers and independent reporting from the Wall Street Journal that Meta's entire strategy around pulling news from Facebook was to sow maximum chaos and confusion for Australians.There were different options on the table for Meta to enact its news blackout, and it chose the most extreme version, extending the news blackout to emergency, health and government pages in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and while Australia was dealing with catastrophic wildfires. After widespread public condemnation and backlash, Meta restored news to Facebook, and achieved concessions from the Australian government in the process.Bullies will continue to bully until someone stands up to them, which brings me back to Canada.Why would two of the largest and most powerful companies to ever exist put so much effort, devote so many resources, to fight legislation that fairly compensates publishers for their content in a smaller market like Canada? The question becomes even more confounding once you factor in the current environment, whereby both Meta and Google have signed deals with multiple Canadian publishers.In other words, the tech giants are lobbying against something they readily admit to already be engaged in. That's because the crux of the matter for Big Tech is that they do not want to be subject to any transparency measures. Whether lobbying against Canada's Online News Act, the European Union's Digital Services Act, or the United Kingdom's Online Safety Bill and recently tabled Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill, the underlying rationale for Big Tech's strategy is the same: to remain as opaque and as unaccountable to the public as possible.The fervent and coordinated opposition to the Online News Act is particularly interesting once one considers what is happening globally. A year or so ago, the platforms could have credibly claimed that newly introduced copyright measures in the European Union and Australia's NMBC were isolated incidents of disconnected jurisdictions going at it alone. However, with the UK's Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Bill, California's Journalism Preservation Act, the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act in the United States Senate, and countries like Brazil and India coming up with their own imminent policy solutions in this space, it's clear that democratic governments around the world are working to maintain the viability of public interest journalism.A vital, robust and free press is a precondition for any democracy. It is no coincidence that the authoritarians and demagogues will always attack journalism and an independent press with such fervour. Once you dismantle public interest journalism, democracy unravels alongside it.Striving to ensure the survival of journalism is a laudable goal. Thankfully, Canada has the potential to use its suite of policy tools at its disposal, including the Online News Act, in order to help ensure the continued viability of journalism in this country. It's a shame Big Tech seems intent on doing whatever they can to stand in the way of that.Luckily, though, there's strength in numbers when it comes to bullies. You're not alone, Canada. Continue to stand strong in the face of the bullying tactics and threats by Big Tech and know that the UK is right there, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with you as we embark on our own path.Damian Collins OBE MP, is a former UK government Tech Minister and chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee. He also chaired the Joint Committee of the UK parliament in the Online Safety Bill.