THE STANDING SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORT AND COMMUNICATIONS

MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS

OTTAWA, Tuesday, May 9, 2023
(53)

[English]

The Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications met this day at 9 a.m., in room B45, Senate of Canada Building, the chair, the Honourable Leo Housakos, presiding.

Members of the committee present: The Honourable Senators Cardozo, Clement, Cormier, Dasko, Harder, P.C., Housakos, Manning, Miville-Dechêne, Quinn and Simons (10).

Participating in the meeting: Khamla Heminthavong and Jed Chong, analysts, Library of Parliament.

Pursuant to the order of reference adopted by the Senate on Tuesday, April 18, 2023, the committee continued its examination of Bill C-18, An Act respecting online communications platforms that make news content available to persons in Canada.

WITNESSES:

National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada:

Thomas S. Saras, President and Chief Executive Officer.

The National Council of Canadian Muslims:

Karine Devost, Senior Legal Counsel;

Rizwan Mohammad, Advocacy Officer.

Consortium of Official Language Minority:

Linda Lauzon, Executive Director, Réseau-Presse.

The Western Standard:

Derek Fildebrandt, Publisher, President, Chief Executive Officer.

Alberta Weekly Newspapers Association:

Evan Jamison, President (by videoconference);

Dennis Merrell, Executive Director (by videoconference).

Coalition of Canadian Magazines:

Nicolas Lapierre, Member of the Association des éditeurs de magazines québécois;

Nicole Doucet, Consultant.

Thomas S. Saras, Karine Devost and Linda Lauzon each made a statement and, together with Rizwan Mohammad, answered questions.

At 10:02 a.m., the committee suspended.

At 10:06 a.m., the committee resumed.

Derek Fildebrandt, Evan Jamison and Nicolas Lapierre each made a statement and, together with Dennis Merrell and Nicole Doucet, answered questions.

At 11:03 a.m., the committee adjourned to the call of the chair.

ATTEST:

Vincent Labrosse

Clerk of the Committee