Also proposes $5M for new Changing Narratives Fund
OTTAWA – While Minister of Canadian Heritage Pablo Rodriguez has sought to reassure Canadians the CRTC will have the resources it needs to take on the new responsibilities proposed for it in the recently introduced Bills C-11 and C-18, today’s budget provides a few actual details.
Tabled by the federal government today, Budget 2022 proposes to provide the CRTC with $8.5 million over two years, beginning in 2022-2023, “to establish a new legislative and regulatory regime to require digital platforms that generate revenues from the publication of news content to share a portion of their revenues with Canadian news outlets.”
This is clearly geared specifically towards the Commission’s expanded role if Bill C-18 passes, so it is still unclear what the government will do to ensure the CRTC can handle its workload if Bill C-11 is passed as well. Rodriquez has previously indicated the Commission will be given everything it needs but has not gone into detail.
Budget 2022 also proposes to provide Canadian Heritage with $15 million in 2023-2024 for local and diverse journalism, $10 million of which will go to the Local Journalism Initiative. (The Liberals promised in their latest election platform to provide $50 million to the initiative over five years.)
Funding from the Local Journalism Initiative is available to press agencies, private news organizations and non-profit news organizations that are part of either the written press, community radio, community television or online news, according to the initiative’s website. The funding is specifically to be used to hire journalists or freelancers to produce civic journalism in underserved communities.
The other $5 million is allocated to a new Changing Narratives Fund “to break down systemic barriers in the media and cultural sectors and help racialized and religious minority journalists, creators, and organizations have their experiences and perspectives better represented.”
This fund was also part of the Liberal Party’s election platform. The Liberals promised if re-elected they would provide $50 million to develop such a fund, which was intended to be used to empower diverse communities with the tools they need “to tell their own stories and promote diverse voices in arts and culture and across media.”
For the complete Budget 2022, please click here.
