Expanded Government Media Bailouts Compromise Journalistic Integrity, Says Tory MP

Conservative MP Kevin Waugh rises during Question Period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Feb. 25, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

The federal government’s sweeping changes to a $595 million media bailout program crosses the “line of integrity” in journalism, says a former reporter who now sits on the House of Commons Heritage Committee.

In the fall economic statement released on Nov. 21, cabinet committed to enhancing the Canadian journalism labour tax credit by increasing the yearly limit on labour costs that can be claimed per employee from $55,000 to $85,000. It also temporarily increased the tax credit rate from 25 percent to 35 percent for four years. The changes will cost approximately $129 million over five years, starting in 2024-25, with $10 million per year afterward.

“The government continues to spend millions on media,” Conservative MP Kevin Waugh, a former television sports journalist, said during a Nov. 23 committee meeting.

“When you see millions of dollars being spent on journalists there is a line of integrity I think has been crossed,” he added, as first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter.

The bailout, according to the government’s economic statement, is a bid to keep “independent journalism” alive and well in Canada. The government described the funding as a response to the “changing nature of the news industry” that is “threatening the existence of local news across Canada.”

Liberal MP Taleeb Noormohamed argued during the committee meeting that Tory opposition to the media bailout did not reflect public opinion. “I think it’s important that sometimes what you may hear from Conservative MPs may not actually reflect the will of Canadians,” he said.

“It’s always interesting to hear my Conservative colleagues speak about what appears to be disdain for media,” he added. “They talk about wanting to defund the CBC in their caucus.”

Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre has repeatedly called to “defund” the CBC by ending its $1.3 billion in media subsidies.

“The CBC frankly is a biased propaganda arm of the Liberal Party and, frankly, negatively affects all media,” Mr. Poilievre told reporters on April 13. “We need a neutral and free media, not a propaganda arm for the Liberal Party.”

In an August 2022 interview with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation periodical “The Taxpayer,” Mr. Poilievre said he would “cut corporate welfare” of all kinds, including media subsidies.

“I think we need a market-driven media that benefits by subscriptions, advertising, sponsorships and donations rather than government subsidies,” he said. “I am against bailouts. Frankly, I am against all kinds of bailouts, not just for media.”