BY PAUL JUNOR
Bill C-18 has led to predictable and anticipated consequences for Canadian news media outlets. It was described as the Online News Act and it requires companies to pay for showing links to news, which is no charge to everyone else.
The controversial Online Streaming Act has seen the blockage of Canadian news from Facebook and Instagram and led to less coverage and decreased revenues which have had ripple effects as they minimized the full impact of blocked news links on Facebook and Instagram. The federal government has now realized that it has to do something to address the devastating and destructive aspects of Bill C-18.
In the recent Fall Economic Statement (FES), the federal government announced plans to pay for 35% of journalist costs for news outlets with a 116% increase in tax credit per employee. It is interesting that News Media Canada was actively lobbying for Bill C-18, and when it realized that it did not work subsequently, lobbied for a bailout from the government.
The FES indicated that the government was interested in “Supporting Journalists and News organizations.” It touts the importance of independent journalism as a means to enhance democracy and provide timely and relevant information to Canadians nationwide. It acknowledges the evolving landscape of the news industry, and the challenges that local news media are currently experiencing. In light of this, it states in the FES, “To ensure a strong and independent press can continue to thrive in Canada, the 2023 Fall Economic Statement proposes to enhance the Canadian journalism labour tax credit. Effective for labour costs incurred on, or after January 1st, 2023, the federal government proposes to increase the yearly limit on labour costs that can be claimed per eligible employee from $55,000 to $85,000, and temporarily increase the tax credit from 25% to 35% for a period of four years.”
Michael Geist in a post on Tuesday, November 21st, 2023, expressed the independence of the Canadian press if they will be gaining financial benefit from the government. He notes that it is hard to believe a strong and independent press is possible without financial support from the government in light of the effects of Bill C-18. “Canadian media was already reluctant to hold the government to account on Bill C-18, and now finds that more than ⅓ of its labour costs for journalists are effectively paid by the government.”
Geist concludes his post by detailing how the government is potentially using public money to make up for its miscalculation of Bill C-18, which has resulted in enormous financial loss to media outlets. He notes. “A bail out for its miscalculation should be a non-starter as it would mark a huge government intervention into the media sector and result in the public directly funding media at an unprecedented level that calls into question its very independence.”
