Commentary
The big debate about the future of mainstream Canadian media these days isn’t about whether Canadian newsrooms will become dependent on the goodwill of Justin Trudeau’s government.
Now we are discussing the price.
It was announced on October 21 by the Minister of Heritage Enter Pablo Rodriguez In front of the House Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. And while he tried hard to assure committee members that his online his news law does not allow politicians to choose the media that are entitled to its benefits, his law won out. And it’s becoming very clear to designate losers. Rodriguez seems determined not only that the biggest winners will be those whose survival is least at risk, but also to create as many media outlets as possible willing to depend permanently on the survival of liberal governments.
The minister, who said legacy media is essential to democracy but did not mention new start-ups and innovators, said who would qualify as designated media outlets under Bill C-18 (Online News Act). He said he wanted nothing to do with determining But in response to questions about which body news providers can sue if they are not named as beneficiaries, he said the Canadian Radio, Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) will decide. (That’s despite the CRTC chair previously saying he didn’t want to decide).
Either way, it’s something someone has to do, and ultimately it’s up to the people appointed by the Trudeau government, namely the CRTC Commissioners, or which organization to make the cut as a qualified press organization as defined by the Income Tax Act. It will be one of the panels to decide what to do.
The group that determines who is eligible is called the Independent Advisory Panel on Eligibility for the Journalism Tax Treatment. Colette Brin, Chairperson, is a professor of journalism at Laval University and a former Radio Canada reporter. Kings of Halifax He is Kim Kierans, a college professor of journalism and a former reporter for the CBC. Margo Goodhand, former editor of the Winnipeg Free Press and Edmonton Journal. Pierre-Paul Norow is the former publisher of Le Droit, the lobbying organization that promoted Bill C-18.He was a former director of News Media Canada. Karim H. Karim, a professor at Carleton University and former Canadian employee of Heritage, resigned almost 18 months before him and the government has not named his successor.
For small businesses excluded from the Bill C-18 windfall, the Minister of Heritage quickly pointed to the Local Journalism Initiative. Replenishment on October 20— as a source of nutrition for them. Rodriguez was originally announced as a five-year $10 million annual fund, but next year he’s doubling that to his $20 million, which won’t expire after five years. It seems that. No, it looks like what was $10 million a year in 5 years is going to be $20 million a year forever. If that wasn’t enough, Rodriguez extended the “Special Measures for Journalism” portion of the Canadian Periodicals Fund by an additional $40 million over his next three years.
No wonder Rodriguez boasted that “the world is watching.” In his view, Canada’s traditional media and democracy itself are leading the way in surviving change.
But while he avoids picking winners personally, he’s built a world where it’s clear to the press which party will keep them fed, watered, and their mortgages paid. There is no doubt that there are.
Meanwhile, Congressional Budget Officers have worked out the numbers for Bill C-18, which would force social media and search engines to pay media outlets to post content on their platforms for free. And the big winners of that cashapalooza play (the bare-faced shakedown) aren’t the legacy newspapers that faced bankruptcy and begged for it in the first place. No, according to PBO, they get only $80 million a year to fight among themselves, and the rest of his $249 million goes to wealthy broadcasters like CBC, Bellmedia/CTV, and Corus/Global. There is a possibility that it will be lined up in the pocket of the station. .
In other words, Bill C-18 won’t save old newspapers like the Toronto Star, Globe and Mail, and Ottawa Citizen. But that might just provide online competitors with the loot they need to take them down.
“According to PBO, most of the profits from Bill C-18 will go to CBC and other big broadcasters,” tweeted Saskatoon West MP Brad Redekop. “All the world is watching is @Pablorodriguez ripping apart our media credibility.”
It is important that people have a reliable source of news (accurate news). As we’ve seen from testimony in the Emergency Act investigation, hysterical leftists and just plain bad press can have serious consequences.
Canada needs the right free market industrial strategy for the 21st century news industry. Not Bill C-18 and all the other financial confetti Rodriguez threw at the feet of some of his favorites.
Views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Epoch Times.
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Peter Menzies is a Senior Research Fellow at the Macdonald Laurier Institute, an award-winning journalist, and former Vice-Chairman of the CRTC.