OTTAWA – In a response last week to the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage’s May 2022 report on the impact of the proposed merger of Rogers Communications and Shaw Communications on local news, heritage minister Pablo Rodriguez suggested there is enough being done already to mitigate the potential negative impacts highlighted in the report.
The minister acknowledged the Canadian broadcasting system is facing a time of “significant transformation”.
“Canadians’ viewing habits are shifting online, and service providers are adapting to compete within Canada and with service providers from around the world,” his response reads. “The proposed transaction is taking place against the backdrop of these sector-wide shifts.”
The minister pointed to Bill C-11, the Online Streaming Act, and Bill C-18, the Online News Act as examples of how the government is addressing the transformation of the media industry generally, and the problems facing local news specifically.
If C-11 is passed, it will mean a new broadcasting policy objective will be added to the Broadcasting Act – one that states, “the programming provided by the Canadian broadcasting system should include programs produced by Canadians that cover news and current events, from the local and regional to the national and international,” Rodriguez wrote.
“News that reflects the viewpoints of Indigenous persons and Canadians from racialized communities and diverse ethnocultural backgrounds should also be provided, even if Global News operates with a reduced budget. The CRTC has the authority to direct financial support towards all varieties of Canadian programming in furthering these new policy objectives, and this includes support for local news.”
In terms of Bill C-18, Rodriguez said if passed, the new act “would encourage digital platforms to reach fair commercial agreements with a diversity of smaller and local news businesses by providing an exemption to online platforms from the mandatory bargaining and final offer arbitration process if such agreements are reached.”
To be exempt, digital platforms would have to, among other things, show they have made fair commercial deals with smaller news businesses, including local news outlets. “This requirement would allow the CRTC to ensure that digital platforms are negotiating agreements with smaller and independent regional or community news businesses as well as larger ones,” Rodriguez said.
On the matter of the impact of the merger of Rogers and Shaw specifically on local news, the minister said the CRTC holds broadcasters to standard requirements and as part of its decision on the proposed merger, said Rogers must go above and beyond those requirements as a condition of approval.
“For example, Rogers would be required to air 48 additional prime-time, locally reflective news specials each year that are original programming and go over and above its current required hours of locally reflective news programming,” the minister’s response reads.
“Rogers would also be required to increase the aggregate number of journalists employed in its Citytv television stations operating in markets across the country, effectively doubling its journalistic strength in Western Canada. It would also have to create an Indigenous news team composed of journalists based in all the provinces where Rogers provides news content, delivering Indigenous-led stories to First Nations, Métis and Inuit communities.”
The minister further addressed concerns about Corus’ news services, which stem from Rogers having indicated it will not continue to provide Corus-owned Global News with the millions it has been receiving from Shaw as part Shaw’s annual Canadian programming funding, and a possible change in the status of Global News that could make it eligible for funding through the Independent Local News Fund (ILNF), which would mean less funding for those that currently rely on it.
On the first issue, Rodriguez said those communities served by Global News and not Rogers, including Kelowna, Lethbridge, Saskatoon, Regina, Peterborough, Kingston, Saint John, and Halifax, will “continue to receive adequate levels of local programming and locally reflective news, regardless of the outcome of the transaction.”
He argues this is the case because the stations in those communities will still be subject to existing regulatory requirements around the amount of local news that must be provided. This response, while accurate, side-steps the question of what will happen to the quality (rather than any measure of quantity) of news coming out of those stations when Corus loses the millions in funding it previously received from Shaw.
On the second issue related to the ILNF, Rodriguez pointed out that as part of its tangible benefits package, Rogers is expected to provide $4.36 million to the fund and said the CRTC has committed to examining the issue of Global News’ eligibility in an upcoming review.
“Going forward, the ILNF is an important tool that the CRTC could adapt to support its implementation of the news policy objective if Bill C-11 receives Royal Assent,” Rodriguez wrote.
The heritage minister also pointed out in his response that while the CRTC has already approved the broadcasting side of the proposed merger of Rogers and Shaw, the merger still needs to be approved by the industry minister, and the Competition Bureau is currently seeking to have the merger blocked by the Competition Tribunal.
“The Government is confident in these processes but will be mindful of any effects of the proposed merger on local news. Further course corrections can be made downstream, if required, as broadcasting licences are renewed, and regulations are adopted,” he wrote.
For the full response from the minister, please click here.
