44th Parl. 1st Sess.
May 30, 2022 11:00AM
Mr. Speaker, I would say that I would like to thank my colleague for Winnipeg North for his speech, but that would be disingenuous.
The member talked a lot about support for local media, which is funny, because in the operations committee about three years ago, we actually studied government advertising in Canada. The committee came up with recommendations that the government should stop sending all its money to Google and Facebook and use government advertising to support local media, small newspapers, the Winnipeg Free Press, which he mentioned, and a lot of local ethnic newspapers. What did this government do? It took the recommendation, threw it in the garbage, and continued to push more money to Google, Facebook and these big web giants.
Why, then, is the member speaking out of both sides of his face? He is saying to support local business, but when we had the chance to do so, the government gave the money to Facebook and Google.
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Mr. Speaker, this legislation is actually good news.
Let us be realistic. The federal government, as it has for many years, invests in advertising in a significant way, from community newspapers to radio programs, both urban and rural. We have ethnic advertising that takes place, and yes, there is advertising that takes place on Google and on YouTube. There are very important programs that the government has, and it is important that Canadians find out about them, whether they be programs that serve our vets or programs that advertise the greener home building program or other programs from which Canadians can really benefit if in fact they are informed about them.
Governments have done advertising for many years, although not with as much money as Stephen Harper ever spent, but governments have done it for many years.
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Mr. Speaker, I organized a major public consultation during last week's constituency week. There is an airport in my riding, and I held public consultations on developing that airport. It is an important piece of infrastructure that affects the lives of 400,000 people in the region.
My riding has just one local weekly newspaper, Le Courrier du Sud. We wanted the media to come and cover this event, which would affect everyone in my riding, not to mention people in neighbouring ridings, so we sent a press release to the newspaper. We were told that no journalists were available to cover this event, despite how important it was to our local community.
The legislation presented for our consideration does not ensure that small local weekly newspapers will have enough bargaining power to fully participate in negotiations with web giants.
Can my colleague comment on that? Can he assure us that local media will be able to get sufficient funding through the negotiations that will take place with the web giants?
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Mr. Speaker, with Bill C-18's passage, we will see for the first time a greatly enhanced opportunity to ensure that we do get fair compensation, not only for the large media outlets but for small media outlets also. I can understand and relate to what the member is talking about, especially in rural Manitoba, as an example, or even in some of our major urban centres where there is a need for more journalists. As a society, we want to support that industry. For me personally, fact-based news is of critical importance.
I hope to see the bill go to committee, and maybe the member can participate at the committee stage. If there are things we can do to improve and enhance the legislation, I am sure that the minister would be open to those ideas. In fact, if the member has specifics, he should probably raise them with the minister or the parliamentary secretary in advance of the bill going to committee.
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Mr. Speaker, this bill is important, and it is so important that we make web giants pay their fair share. It is also important that we learn lessons from other countries.
The member mentioned Australia, and I want to follow up on the question from my colleague in the Bloc. We have seen in Australia that Facebook and others have been entering into revenue agreements with the large publishers. It means that the smaller publishers are not getting fair compensation. Therefore, I am wondering if the member will commit to advocating for changes at committee stage to ensure that smaller publishers get a fair shake.
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question and I think there is a great deal of interest not only on my part but from within the Liberal caucus and hopefully others, such as the member, in recognizing the importance of the smaller news agencies. That is one of the reasons I incorporated this point in my comments and talked about ensuring fairer compensation for both large and small media outlets. They are absolutely critical, especially to our local communities.
I really do believe that this legislation would enhance that sense of fairness for both large and small media outlets. If there are things that we could do to better ensure that outcome, I would encourage my New Democratic friends to raise the issue and bring up the example, and if they have an amendment, to share it with the minister or the staff. They do not have to wait until it goes to committee; they can do that at any point in time. I am sure that if there are ways in which we can improve the bill, the minister would be open to them.
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Mr. Speaker, I am very troubled by what has happened to journalism in Canada. I agree, as the hon. parliamentary secretary said, that democracy itself is under assault when we lose our local journalists. In fact, there have been empirical studies that show that as parliamentary bureaus of local papers across Canada close up shop, the level of voting in those communities goes down. I agree with the diagnosis, but I do not know that we have the right prescription.
What we now see in Australia are a lot of concerns after the Australian model, which we are now pursuing, has been used as a big stick to drive people to private negotiations with no transparency. There is a lot of concern about following this model.
I am not saying I am against it and I want to figure out how it might work, but surely the simplest thing is to go to the source and say to Google, Twitter, Facebook and anything that is undermining our journalism that they are publishers, just like the newspapers. They are not platforms but publishers, and they have to follow all the same rules as print journalism in Canada.
Would the hon. member comment on that?
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Mr. Speaker, for many years, giant tech companies such as Facebook, Google and YouTube have been going around the world and getting away with a great deal while enriching themselves worldwide. We are seeing more countries today saying that it is not acceptable and that we want to ensure that there is protection for their media industries, and that is something that is very tangible coming from this government. This legislation will go a long way toward ensuring a higher sense of fair compensation and protecting a critically important industry.
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Mr. Speaker, thank you for fitting me into this debate.
I would say this to the hon. member for Winnipeg North: We just heard a comment from the Conservatives across the way that they did not want to hear from him because he had an alternative point of view. In fact, a lot of news is presented online in a biased fashion. Could the member talk about news as entertainment versus news as a source of information on the different points of view that help to inform us?
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Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question. That is why I shared the story of the gentleman who would show up and talk to me. After a few weeks, I could tell exactly what outlet he was using as his source. It was always the same outlet. When I made the suggestion that he try to expand and look at other media outlets, he literally stopped coming. It was a pleasant discussion we had.
The point is that it is very important that we be supportive of our news industry and journalists. That is what this legislation is all about. It is about ensuring there is proper compensation. We have some of the best journalists in the world and we need to support them. We need to be there for the industry. It is healthier for our democracy.
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Mr. Speaker, it has been an enjoyable afternoon listening to some of the fairy tales from the government, because it is cutting off debate after two hours on a bill that, from coast to coast, we have not seen much of.
Bill C-18 is an interesting bill. As a former journalist and broadcaster, I am glad today that I have the opportunity to speak to this bill and right the ship, if the House does not mind.
I spent 40 years in the industry, in radio and television. I began the career in Yorkton, working midnights as a disk jockey. I spent some time in Melfort doing radio. I moved over to CFQC in Saskatoon—
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- May/30/22 1:56:19 p.m.
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The hon. parliamentary secretary to the government House leader is rising on a point of order.
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Mr. Speaker, I apologize to my friend for interrupting.
There is an incredible amount of background noise going on just outside the chamber. Perhaps you could pass along an instruction for them to quiet down a bit.
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- May/30/22 1:56:35 p.m.
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I appreciate that intervention. I try to remind folks as they come into the chamber and the lobbies to keep their conversations a lot quieter, because the sound coming over from the other side is a little too much for this House of Commons. Again I would ask members coming into the House to keep the lobby doors closed to keep the volume down.
I apologize. The hon. member for Saskatoon—Grasswood has three minutes.
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Mr. Speaker, picking back up, I spent some time at Melfort, went over to Saskatoon in radio and then spent the majority of my career as a sports journalist and anchor at CTV News Saskatoon.
As a journalist, I remember having the opportunity to travel and cover some of the biggest news stories in Saskatchewan's history. I was on the field for countless Roughriders games, Grey Cup championships, Olympics and world curling championships. I remember covering the historic attempt when Saskatoon and Saskatchewan tried to get the St. Louis Blues to move to Saskatoon. That was in the 1980s.
What a success entrepreneur Bill Hunter and his group had back then, as they had thousands of people activated in our province, all going through the news media. We went to Madison Square Garden in New York for the NHL hearings. I remember the night before the hearings I was in the New York Islanders' dressing room celebrating the team's four-game sweep of the Edmonton Oilers. I talked to the many Saskatchewan-born players on the Islanders' team: Bryan Trottier, Bob Bourne and so on. It was a historic week being in New York trying to get the St. Louis Blues back to Saskatchewan and Canada.
I am afraid those stories would probably not be told today because of the lack of budgets for small- and medium-sized news organizations in this country. They have cut their staff, some down entirely to zero. In stations that actually remain, the person we hear on the air is often the only person in the entire building. Big stations are not exempt from this either. I have seen my fair share of colleagues and friends over the years being shown the door when cuts came around to address lagging revenues.
Earlier in my career, though, I worked late nights covering the station at a time when there was actually live coverage of radio throughout the night. Now, most stations are live for maybe six hours a day, or 12 at best. It is actually exclusively pre-recorded and it is satellite radio. This is a shame because where can young broadcasters get into the business now when, with a flip of the switch, people can have satellite radio?
We are getting ready for question period, and I will, as they say, come back for the rest of the story.
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- May/30/22 2:00:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to share today about my friend Roger Farwell.
Roger was not only an architect, a community builder and a champion of arts and culture, he was one who was deeply devoted to his family and his community. He passed away tragically last summer, and yesterday family and friends came together to celebrate his life and legacy.
Waterloo region is known as a barn raising community, where people come together to support each other. Over his life, Roger received nearly every prestigious award our community offers to recognize leadership and service, including our highest honour, the Barnraiser Award, which was inspired by former governor general David Johnston.
Roger was the consummate barnraiser. He gave to others, worked quietly behind the scenes, and expected nothing in return. In so many ways, Roger was the best of our community.
As we continue to mourn the loss of Roger, I want to extend my deepest condolences to his wife, Cathy, and the rest of his family. We send them all our love and wish them strength as they continue to grieve. Together we will do our best to make Roger proud.
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- May/30/22 2:01:47 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, Canada is blessed with stunning natural beauty, vibrant cities and diverse cultural gatherings that draw people from around the world to experience them.
Before the pandemic, the tourism industry employed one out of every 11 Canadians. Across our country, from the slopes of Whistler, to the Calgary Stampede, Le Vieux-Port of Montreal and Gros Morne in Newfoundland, chances are that tourism is one of the important parts of the local economy and a source of immense pride for communities to welcome visitors.
This week is national Tourism Week. As we celebrate Tourism Week, I invite every member in the House and every member in the other place to join me in the panorama room at the Delta Hotel for a reception, hosted by the parliamentary tourism caucus and the Tourism Industry Association of Canada, to share some food and drinks from across our great nation and talk about how we could jump-start tourism in Canada to once again share our beautiful country with the world.
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- May/30/22 2:02:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, human trafficking remains a vicious and growing crime in every corner of this country, and it is within 10 blocks of where we live. It must end.
Today I am pleased to recognize the work of one of the great heroes in the fight against human trafficking, the former member of Parliament Joy Smith. For years, Joy was relentless in raising this issue in the House and championing the voices of victims and survivors. During her time as MP, she had one motion and two private members' bills adopted that strengthened Canada’s human anti-trafficking laws. Joy also initiated the former Conservative government’s national action plan to combat human trafficking. As a former teacher, Joy has always said, “Education is our greatest weapon”.
Since leaving office, she has continued the fight against human trafficking through the Joy Smith Foundation, educating thousands of Canadians and supporting countless survivors. Last year, Joy’s foundation launched the National Human Trafficking Education Centre, which provides courses for teachers, parents and frontline responders. We thank Joy for her tireless work to stand up for the vulnerable and securing freedom for those enslaved.
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- May/30/22 2:03:56 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this year marks the 75th anniversary of the Canadian Rangers. They are dedicated, courageous men and women, and they are Canadian Armed Forces members. They live and work in remote, isolated, coastal regions of Canada. They are trained and ready to serve.
This year they celebrate a major milestone of loyal service to Canada. They are 5,000 strong, and they serve in more than 200 communities across Canada's north. I want to thank all those who serve in the Canadian Rangers.
We see them in times of crisis, such as search and rescue operations and natural disasters. We see them helping communities throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and we see them in times of celebration as they mark the extreme events of Canada's military history. They are always there to support their communities and to support Canada's northern regions.
I ask members of Parliament to join me in extending our thanks and appreciation to all those who have served in the Canadian Rangers and Junior Canadian Rangers for Canada for the past 75 years.
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- May/30/22 2:05:13 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this week is National Tourism Week. We all know that tourism is a vital part of our economy. In Quebec alone, it generates $15 billion in economic spinoffs each year, and there are 25,000 businesses employing 400,000 people in tourism.
The last two years have been especially difficult. It is now time to look ahead. Our industry must regain its international competitiveness. The industry is ready, and it is safe. It is working flat out to offer tourists an exceptional experience.
We must support our businesses and sing the praises of our own little corner of the world. I have plenty to boast about. With its wide-open spaces, its history, its amazing food scene, its new-world accent and its charm, Quebec is ready to welcome tourists back with the same warmth and good humour as before.
Happy National Tourism Week, everyone.
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