The Liberal government is committed to long term aid for money-losing news media, the Department of Canadian Heritage said yesterday..According to Blacklock's Reporter, the department said it was unaware of impending newspaper closures amid an ongoing $595 million bailout set to expire in two years..“Departmental officials are not aware of any imminent closures,” said David Larose, spokesperson for the department..Newspaper shutdowns that occurred since Parliament approved the bailout in 2019 include the Vancouver Courier, Canadian Jewish News, Manitoba’s Stonewall Argus in print since 1893 and the print edition of Ontario’s Paris Star dating from 1852..“News businesses have seen their revenues significantly decline affecting coverage of our communities and institutions,” said Larose. “The government is committed to supporting the long term viability of the Canadian news sector including through various tax measures and programs.”.The current $595 million bailout is set to expire on March 31, 2024. Publishers who apply for aid and are deemed “qualified” by the Canada Revenue Agency are eligible for 15% subscriber tax credits and 25% annual payroll rebates to a maximum $13,750 per newsroom employee..The heritage department in a 2021 briefing note acknowledged the bailout neither saved mismanaged newspapers facing closure nor led to net gains in jobs. “The decrease in advertising revenues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic led to service reductions and newspaper closures resulting in the loss of more than 2500 jobs,” said the briefing note Improving Federal Support For Journalism..The department said it knew of “the hiring of 342 journalists” but only because their wages were subsidized 100% under a $50 million Local Journalism Initiative. “The loss of even one job is a tragedy,” Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez earlier told reporters..Spokesperson Larose said an example of long term support for failing media included Bill C-18 the Online News Act currently awaiting hearings of the Commons heritage committee. “The bill will contribute to the sustainability of the news sector including the sustainability of independent local news businesses,” said Larose..Bill C-18 would grant news corporations an exemption from anti-trust law in claiming a portion of advertising revenues generated by stories shared through social media platforms like Google and Facebook. The heritage department has acknowledged the largest beneficiary of the bill is the CBC..The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation averages 21 million monthly visitors to its free news websites that are subsidized through a $1.3 billion annual federal grant. The CBC in its last Annual Report to Parliament counted $54.8 million in revenue from its website advertisers.
