Parliament is urged to pass C\u002D18, the Online News Act, before its summer recess
The French-language weekly press in Quebec has also played a fundamental role in the delivery of information to the heart of several local communities, often in regions that do not benefit from any other local or regional media. In this context, it can be said that a weakened press seriously jeopardizes our democracy.
Local newspapers have been a part of the economic and cultural landscape of this country for over a century. In fact, some predate Confederation, and they are essential to our democratic vitality. Outside of the major urban centres, they are often the only ones to play such a role and their relevance remains just as great today as before the advent of the web and social networks.Our journalists create and produce original local and regional content that Canadians need.
Without local news publishers, there will be no information about what is going on at city hall, no visibility for local community organizations, no public debate on citizens’ initiatives, and no scrutiny over elected officials. We wholeheartedly endorse this bill, which allows for collective bargaining to overcome the market imbalance between global web platforms and local and regional news media publishers. Even the agreements already concluded between certain large publishers and Google or Facebook present an inequality and an imbalance for smaller, independent publishers like us.
These web giants have effectively cannibalized our income without assuming any of the social and fiscal responsibilities attached to it by controlling the algorithms. They have disrupted our business model. Above all, they succeeded in attracting 80 per cent of the advertising investments of local and regional businesses and merchants without there being any tangible benefits for the community.
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