QUESTION PERIOD — Canadian Heritage
Online News Act
November 29, 2023
Senator Gold, today we learned that the government struck a last-minute deal with Google under which the corporation will hand over $100 million per year to support Canadian media. We were expecting a much more generous deal on the order of $172 million.
The government pinned its hopes on the Online News Act to secure funding for Canadian media. Now that Meta has stopped sharing news links and Google will circumvent the act by paying $100 million per year, what is the government’s game plan to ensure that television news, radio stations and small online media outlets get their fair share?
Thank you for the question. The new deal with Google is good news for all Canadians. Still, the Government of Canada regrets that Meta has decided to leave Canadians in the lurch.
To answer your question, the government created the Canadian journalism labour tax credit, increased the Canada Periodical Fund that many local media entities rely on, and created the Local Journalism Initiative. These are important measures, and I’ve been assured that the government will continue to support journalism in various ways. It’s important to democracy.
On precisely this issue, last week you announced an enhanced tax credit worth $129 million just for print media, so this tax credit you’re talking about only applies to print media. It doesn’t include electronic media, like television and radio. In Quebec alone, TVA Group recently laid off 547 employees, and Cogeco isn’t doing well.
Is it time to expand eligibility for the journalism tax credit to radio and television?
That’s true. You’re absolutely right that with changes in the media environment and ecosystem, it is increasingly important to focus on non-traditional sources and channels, although they’ve become traditional for an entire generation.
Having said that, the government will continue to study this changing ecosystem to ensure that it can continue to support journalism for the benefit of Canadians and our democracy.
Thank you.
