A researcher leading a federally funded project to identify Canadian news outlets considered reliable says the directory will not be used to favour Liberal-friendly media or publishers supportive of the government.“There is no role for government oversight,” Laval University professor Colette Brin said, according to Blacklock’s Reporter.The Department of Canadian Heritage is funding the Local News Directory, which is expected to be completed by 2029. The cost of the project has not been disclosed.“The purpose of the directory is to provide a comprehensive picture of local news availability across Canadian communities, not to identify preferred or approved publishers,” said Brin.Access To Information records obtained by Blacklock’s Reporter said the directory is intended to “help people struggling to find local news they can trust.”Researchers from Laval University, Concordia University and Toronto Metropolitan University are being paid to identify publishers deemed to provide “reliable news.” The term “reliable news” was not defined in the records.Brin said researchers will place significant weight on whether outlets produce original journalism.“Outlets that rely exclusively on artificial intelligence generated content would be excluded from the directory,” she said.Brin denied political views or relationships with the federal government would play a role in deciding which news organizations make the list.“Selection decisions are based on transparent methodological criteria related to the production and availability of local news, not on editorial opinions, political perspectives or relationships with government,” she said.“Importantly, the verification process is being carried out by independent local information experts rather than government officials.”.Brin said publishers will instead be placed into categories including dedicated local news providers, hyper-local outlets in major metropolitan areas and organizations that occasionally provide local coverage.“There is no role for government oversight in determining which outlets are included,” she said.Heritage Minister Marc Miller, whose department is funding the project, previously told MPs that Canadians are increasingly exposed to disinformation from what he described as both “legitimate and illegitimate” media sources.“I think in an age we’re all living through of intense disinformation, there is less social cohesion as falsities are propagated through media sources, both legitimate and illegitimate,” Miller testified before the House of Commons heritage committee on Feb. 12.Miller also defended the role of publicly funded broadcasting, arguing institutions such as CBC can contribute to social cohesion.“Social cohesion is the ability for people to trust their institutions, to not feel like society is falling apart, that we are all living together and able to exercise the rights, in the case of Canada, that define us,” he said.“When there is lack of support for a public broadcaster, I think that contributes to the spread of disinformation and social cohesion is therefore affected.”Miller rejected the suggestion that federal involvement amounted to government control over the news industry.“It’s not about any sort of command and control of the media system you might see in other countries,” he said.
