CAB says Bill C-10 delays creating “domino effect” pushing back promised legislation to help news outlets
TORONTO and OTTAWA — News Media Canada, representing hundreds of print and digital news outlets in every province and territory, today issued an open letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calling on the federal government to act immediately on its commitment to support local journalists.
The letter, signed by News Media Canada chair Jamie Irving, was published today by news organizations across the country, including The Toronto Star, The Toronto Sun, The Hamilton Spectator, The National Post, Le Journal de Montréal, The Edmonton Journal and The Province.
“For months, you and the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Steven Guilbeault, have promised action to rein in the predatory monopoly practices of Google and Facebook against Canadian news media. But so far, all we’ve gotten is talk. And with every passing week, that talk grows hollower and hollower,” reads the letter. (The full text of the letter can be found here.)
In a press release titled “Government Fails Local News”, Irving says: “Reporting real news costs real money. There are only two ways to cover those costs: advertising and subscriptions. But Google and Facebook use their control of the Internet and their highly sophisticated algorithms to divert 80% of all online advertising revenue in Canada. And they distribute the work of hardworking journalists across the country without compensation.”
He points out Minister Guilbeault repeated the federal government’s commitment to introduce legislation in the spring of 2021 on several media outlets, including CBC Radio, The National Post, The Globe and Mail and CTV.
“Until all news media in Canada can negotiate collectively with Google and Facebook, the two multinationals will continue to use their market dominance to drive terms that are in their interests. Government inaction has created a vacuum and puts some publishers at a negotiating disadvantage without the backstop of legislation,” adds Irving, in the press release.
It’s worth noting Facebook recently announced a pilot project negotiated collectively with 14 Canadian news outlets which will see it pay for news.
Cartt.ca reached out to Kevin Desjardins, president of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters (CAB), for comment on News Media Canada’s effort to unite media outlets in calling for government action on legislation to support local news.
“We definitely need to see tangible forward movement on the remuneration of news broadcasters and publishers. The significant and growing presence of these web giants in the Canadian search and advertising marketplaces serves to undercut the ability of broadcasters and publishers to continue to support their local news content,” writes Desjardins in an email response.
“The delays in moving forward with broadcast policy renewal through Bill C-10 have created a domino effect that has pushed this legislation back further. As with C-10, these delays only serve to strengthen the position of unregulated foreign digital players at the expense of our own news broadcasters and publishers,” says Desjardins.
In its letter to the Prime Minister, News Media Canada asks for legislation “to break the Google/Facebook stranglehold on news” be introduced before the summer parliamentary recess.
Parliament breaks for the summer on June 23.
