The Toronto Star has praised Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez in a front-page analysis piece by national politics reporter Raisa Patel for taking on Big Tech companies by advocating for Bill C-18. .But the piece failed to mention how much the Star gets from the Liberals in taxpayer loot..“This issue had been going on for years and years with not a lot of action,” News Media Canada President Paul Deegan told the Toronto Star on Sunday. .“So I think his bent to action was very helpful.” .The Toronto Star estimated in 2019 its take of the Canadian government’s media bailout money was about $115,385 per week. .Payroll rebates saw publishers awarded up to $13,750 per newsroom employee. .“We recorded an estimated benefit of $3 million for the first half of the year in respect of a new refundable labour tax credit for qualifying journalism organizations,” said Torstar Corp. .The Toronto Star piece cited Liberal MP Chris Bittle (St. Catharines, ON) saying Rodriguez has a keen interest in the files he is representing. Bittle called him “very good at bringing people together.”.“He is a good listener,” he said. .“He’s a very effective communicator, which is why, in my opinion anyways, he’s been put in this role by the prime minister with controversial pieces of legislation.”.The Toronto Star said Rodriguez will need to rely on some of these skills now more than ever. .A poll conducted by the Angus Reid Institute found 61% of Canadians believe tech giants should compensate news outlets, but the same percentage are worried about losing access to news on Facebook and Google. .The poll found half of Canadians surveyed felt Rodriguez should back down from Big Tech retaliation. Many of them who held this view were past Conservative voters, but one-third chose the Liberals. .Angus Reid Institute President Shachi Kurl said with policy issues in Canada, “the direction points one way or it points the other.” .“This is a very interesting one where the directional arrows are pointing right, left, and also up and down,” said Kurl. .Kurl said it is too soon to tell whether people will turn on Rodriguez if Canadian news begins to vanish from online platforms or whether he will be remembered as the minister who took on Big Tech and won..Regardless of where his public perceptions fall, the Toronto Star said passing Bill C-18 is an achievement of which he should be proud. .Rodriguez said his family fled to Canada from Argentina when he was a child after his father was targeted and imprisoned for his political activism by the government. .He acknowledged he is in Canada because his father fought for freedom of expression..“He was tortured because he went against the regime who was shutting down the different voices, shutting down newspapers,” he said. .“So I will always defend that.”.Canadian Dimension media columnist Marc Edge responded by saying Bill C-18 was impractical. .“I've got a viable alternative,” said Edge. .Edge proposed copying a report on media and local communities which recommended expanding the cable television levy to include internet service providers, which would provide $715 million per year and leave these companies with a 40% profit margin. This amount would be able to fund a large number of news outlets. .Macdonald-Laurier Institute senior fellow Peter Menzies said his organization had an alternative to Bill C-18. .“I have no idea why they insist their noble intentions somehow justify their legislative incompetence,” said Menzies. .Menzies called on the Canadian government to reform CBC’s role as a commercial competitor. It should encourage news subscriptions through tax benefits. .Rodriguez vowed more resources for reporters if Google and Meta follow through with threats to block Canadian newsfeeds from their sites because of Bill C-18 on June 27. .READ MORE: Liberals vow more “resources” for newsrooms if Facebook, Google walk from C-18.He said he had tough but constructive conversations with Google about the implications of Bill C-18. .The Canadian government is working on an implementation plan to sort out the details about how it will work, which will take about six months to complete.
