OTTAWA – Support for community TV and media has been on the agenda in the House of Commons, with nearly a dozen MPs presenting a petition calling for the creation and ongoing support of community media centres in Canada.
According to Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS), the petition says that community media centres will ensure that Canadians have access to adequate news and information that reflects their communities, as well as offer skill development for Canadians' participation in the digital economy.
Liberal MP Will Amos, who represents the riding of Pontiac, north of Ottawa, said in a CACTUS statement that he supported the petition because community media centres “render democracy more accessible and transparent” by enabling all Canadians to have a voice.
“In an environment of intense media ownership concentration, we need a balance for commercial news, which is now almost all produced by the same vertically integrated companies that sell us cable, satellite, and Internet”, added CACTUS executive director Catherine Edwards. “There's no CTV and Global anymore… it's just Bell, Rogers, Shaw, and Videotron. And they produce news only in large markets.”
