With ongoing merger talks between two of Canada’s largest news publishers, Conservative MP Michelle Rempel Garner is urging Canadians to make recent legislation and federal subsidies affecting media outlets across the country a voting issue in the next general election.
“For all the subsidies and interventions the Liberals have put in place since coming to power in 2015, thousands of journalists’ jobs have been lost as dozens of newsrooms have been shuttered,” Rempel Garner wrote in a
Substack post on June 28, as first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter.
“So dire is the state of journalism in Canada today that virtually no regional newsrooms exist, even in big urban centres outside of Toronto, never mind talking about the desert of coverage in Canada’s rural and remote communities. What does exist is mainly dependent on government subsidies to survive.”
Rempel Garner’s post focused mainly on the recent passage of the Liberal government’s Online News Act, which will
require tech giants like Google and Meta—which owns Facebook and Instagram—to pay Canadian media outlets for any of their content linked on their platforms once the new legislation comes into effect in December.
In response, both Meta and
Google have declared they will be blocking content from news outlets for Canadian users in order to comply with the new legislation. Meta is already running a
test to block news for up to 5 percent of Canadian users.
Meanwhile, Postmedia Network Canada Corp.—owner of publications including the National Post, Vancouver Sun, and Calgary Herald—and Nordstar Capital LP., which owns Metroland Media Group and the Toronto Star,
confirmed on June 27 that they are holding ongoing merger talks.
‘Make It An Issue’
The two large Canadian publishers
said that while the proposed deal is yet to be finalized, it represents a bid to respond to the “existential threat” currently facing the media industry.
“The viability of the newspaper industry in Canada is at an extreme risk,” said Toronto Star publisher Jordan Bitove in a
media release on June 27.
“By pooling resources and working collaboratively, we can ensure that more Canadians have access to trusted journalism and quality reporting.”
Rempel Garner
said the timing of the potential merger “stinks to high heaven” considering it comes shortly after Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez
said Ottawa would ensure Canadian newsrooms are given extra resources, including additional funding and tax credits, to help them survive should Meta and Google move forward with blocking news sharing.
“The biggest loser in this scenario is you, dear reader,” Rempel Garner wrote, adding, “Journalism makes our country stronger. If you care about this issue, remember to make it an issue the next time you visit the ballot box.”
“That is, if there’s anyone left to report on a federal election.”
Rodriguez has maintained that the intent of the Online News Act is to
help small, local media organizations compete for online readership by forcing tech giants to negotiate news-sharing deals with them.
The Parliamentary Budget Officer has
said the act would disproportionately advantage large, legacy media organizations over small ones even before Google and Meta announced their plans to block news sharing in response to the new legislation.
The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
