OTTAWA – The Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage today heard from several witnesses who warned that if the proposed merger between Rogers and Shaw were to go through, there would be serious consequences for local news in Canada.
The witnesses who appeared before the committee today included representatives from the Canadian Association of Community Television Users and Stations (CACTUS), the Community Radio Fund of Canada, the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada, Open Media and Quebecor Media Inc.
Witnesses from the CRTC (Scott Hutton, chief of consumer, research and communications and Daniel Pye, director of television programming) were also scheduled to appear but will instead appear another day, according to committee chair Hedy Fry (above).
Those who did speak to the committee today described how local news in Canada has been diminishing over the years.
“The gutting of local news has been ongoing for many years, but has accelerated dramatically over the last decade,” Alex Freedman, the executive director of the Community Radio Fund of Canada, told the committee.
Catherine Edwards, the executive director of CACTUS, specified 75% of over 300 cable community TV stations “have closed as Canada’s cable giants have withdrawn production infrastructure to the cities and focused their energies on specialty channels, selling TV subscriptions, and mobile services.”
Local news is important though, Edwards told the committee, pointing out local stations ensure parliamentarians can reach their constituents to talk about important issues, and not merely with soundbites selected and broadcast by big corporations.
“Approving the Roger/Shaw deal means further slashing into local news” – Matthew Hatfield, campaigns director of Open Media
Freedman also highlighted the importance of local journalism when speaking to the committee.
He noted, however, that it is not profitable and argued corporate concentration hurts access to local news and information in Canada.
“The truth, while critical, is not nearly as attractive or intoxicating as questionable narratives that an algorithm has determined fits into a person’s echo chamber, so when access to local news and information is left in the hands of corporations focused on profit over public good, the outcome shouldn’t be a surprise,” Freedman said.
Thomas Saras, the president and CEO of National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada pointed out new immigrants rely on its members for news and information because they trust them more than other media sources.
The Rogers and Shaw deal, however, puts the diversity of voices in the country at risk, Saras argued. Saras also mentioned the rising costs of Rogers services when explaining why the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada does not support the proposed transaction.
Witnesses also brought up the impact the Rogers/Shaw deal will have on Corus and its Global stations, as well as the ripple effect that will have on local news in Canada more generally.
“Approving the Roger/Shaw deal means further slashing into local news,” Matthew Hatfield, campaigns director of Open Media, told the committee.
“We know that will happen directly through cutting Global News funding to give to City News. We also share the concern of other stakeholders that Corus will be forced to seek support from the independent local news fund (ILNF), which could potentially absorb 60-80% of those very limited funds that are intended for small outlets,” he said.
Freedman further pointed out to the committee, the tangible benefits package proposed by Rogers “shows $8.5 million will be invested in the ILNF once.” After that, however, the concern about Global absorbing a significant portion of the fund will re-emerge.
Hatfield also expressed concern that further cuts to local news “are predictable and inevitable” due to the amount of debt Rogers is taking on.
“To afford the purchase, Rogers is taking on immense levels of debt – debt that needs to be paid off by cutting costs or raising prices,” he told the committee. “Given that local news is already barely economically viable, that’s not going to come in increasing news prices. It will come from slashing programming and jobs.”
Several of the witnesses also warned of broken promises.
Hatfield argued Rogers’ promises to expand news services and hire Indigenous journalists are “not meaningful commitments to local news… They’re entirely short term, legally unenforceable and likely to be ended as soon as the company can.”
Edwards argued vertically and horizontally integrated companies have promised in the past “that with deeper pockets they’ll be able to support local production, but they don’t.”
While noting CACTUS does not support further consolidation, Edwards said if the Rogers/Shaw merger is approved, the organization urges the government “to support initiatives that ensure a diversity of information and service for smaller communities outside the control of Rogers and other BDUs, including the local journalism initiative and the establishment of a community access media fund to support not-for-profit community media.”
Freedman, who refrained from taking a position on whether the merger should go through, also argued that if it does, the government needs to take steps to help local news, specifically calling for expanded funding for the local journalism initiative.
“And it should be up to the corporation’s benefiting from the gutting of local news to pay for this,” he said. “This committee should also ensure that tangible benefits go to organizations, such as the Community Radio Fund and earmarked to support the production of independent local news.”
Pierre Karl Péladeau, president and CEO of Quebecor, also spoke to the committee today. Speaking in French, he noted Quebecor did not appear at the CRTC hearing into the Rogers/Shaw merger as the company’s issues have more of a focus on the telecommunications side of the transaction than the broadcasting side.
Péladeau said he also would not be taking a stance on Rogers’ proposals in terms of local news today but, according to the English translation of his comments, told the committee “if the CRTC does not lighten the regulatory burden of Canadian businesses… local news and all the information sector will suffer the consequences.”
Péladeau commented on the telecommunication sector as well, crediting measures the government put in place for helping its subsidiary Videotron “dismantle the oligopoly of the three big names” to become a fourth player in the wireless market in Quebec, which he said contributed to reduced prices in the province.
He told the committee “Videotron is the best player to make way for true competition throughout Canada and stimulate innovation.”
During the question-and-answer portion of the meeting, committee member Kevin Waugh expressed disappointment that Rogers did not appear before the committee despite having been invited, and said the committee received notice Bell would like to appear before it to talk about the merger. There was no indication, however, whether or when this would happen.
