A group of multicultural, community, local, and national news publishers and trade associations, representing hundreds of publications, is calling on the CRTC to make regulations with respect to the Online News Act “that will ensure consistency and fairness, maximize newsroom investment, enhance transparency and minimize misrepresentation,” says a Tuesday press release.
The news publisher coalition’s call for CRTC regulations follows Google’s announcement Friday that it has chosen the Canadian Journalism Collective-Collectif Canadien de Journalisme (CJC-CCJ) to distribute the digital giant’s annual $100-million contribution to eligible news businesses under the Online News Act.
None of the news coalition’s members — which include the Alberta Weekly Newspapers Association, BC & Yukon Community News Media Association, Hebdos Québec, Manitoba Community Newspapers Association, National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada, News Media Canada, Ontario Community Newspapers Association, and Saskatchewan Weekly Newspapers Association — are directly represented in the CJC-CCJ.
The Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB) has already voiced its concern that commercial broadcasters aren’t represented in the new collective.
“With $100 million annually at stake, news publishers want to ensure that maximum amount flows to newsrooms to maintain and grow journalism jobs in local communities across Canada,” Maria Saras-Voutsinas, executive director at National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada, said in a statement. “The CRTC needs to make sure that the rules are clear to everyone, and the rules are followed by everyone.”
The group of news publishers is calling for CRTC regulations that would ensure consistency and fairness across news businesses by adding specificity to definitions in the Online News Act and regulations, including:
- Base “full-time equivalent” on a standard work week and apply it to those who worked a minimum period of 40 consecutive weeks in an eligible news production role for the eligible news business in the previous calendar year.
- Employees should be defined as those who received a T-4 or Relevé 1 from the news business in the previous calendar year and based on the federal guidance on the employer/employee relationship, which can be found here.
To minimize administrative expenses in order to maximize newsroom investment, the group calls for regulations that would put a maximum cap on administrative fees the single collective can take at 0.5 per cent (or $500,000), and that would ensure any interest earned on the $100 million flows to eligible news businesses, not to the administrator.
To enhance transparency and trust and avoid conflict of interest, the group asks for the following regulations:
- Prior to payments being made to news businesses, have the CRTC validate the eligibility of the news business and verify the number of full-time equivalent employees in an expeditious manner.
- All administrative expenses (including salaries and consulting fees) over $5,000 incurred by the single collective must be reported to the CRTC, audited, and posted publicly.
- Google’s $100-million contribution must be held in trust at a CDIC member institution. Signing authority for disbursements over $5,000 must include an authorized representation from the CDIC member institution, and there can be no co-mingling with another party’s assets.
- The collective’s directors must declare any conflicts of interest, including but not limited to any other remuneration or benefit they receive from the digital news intermediary.
- The collective’s directors must recuse themselves from any decisions related to their own news business.
In addition, the publisher group calls for administrative monetary penalties to be imposed to minimize violations and misrepresentation.
“After the CRTC provides specificity to the definitions, have each news business that has made an attestation to Google reconfirm that they are eligible and the number of full-time equivalent employees engaged in the production of original news content,” the group’s press release says.
“Ensure strict consequences on any news business or individual that has made misrepresentation of a material fact, or has made a false attestation with respect to their eligibility under Section 27 of ‘An Act respecting online communications platforms that make news content available to persons in Canada’ (the Online News Act) or with respect to the number of full-time equivalent employees under Online News Act Application and Exemption Regulations: SOR/2023-276,” the release adds.
