This House of Commons committee meeting on Canadian Heritage studied the state of the journalism and media sectors in Canada. Appearing as witnesses were Travis Dhanraj, a former CBC journalist; Angelica Carrero, Executive Director of the Association des radiodiffuseurs communautaires du Québec; Mario Bartel and Janis Cleugh, co-founders of Freshet News; Raj Shoan and Randy Kitt from Friends of Canadian Media; Mike Fegelman, Haran Shani-Narkiss, and Amanda Eskenasi from HonestReporting Canada; and Paul Deegan, President and CEO of News Media Canada.
Travis Dhanraj testified that after he publicly stated that CBC President Catherine Tait had declined an interview request, he was removed from the air and faced discipline, alleging a pattern of centralized editorial control, tokenism, and a toxic culture at the CBC. He said he was prevented from booking Conservative guests, given a list of banned panellists, and presented with a confidentiality agreement that would have waived his rights under the Canadian Human Rights Act, which he refused. He recommended an overhaul of CBC management and tabled documents including a "Parameters for Political Guests" document and a list of people he was told not to book.
Angelica Carrero stated that community radio stations in Quebec operate on meagre revenues and rely on advertising that has shifted to foreign digital platforms, making their financial viability precarious. She asked for $30 million in annual operating funding for community stations across Canada and a clear directive from the government to place a specific portion of its advertising budget with local community media, arguing this would be a redistribution of existing funds. She noted that the Local Journalism Initiative is appreciated but insufficient and needs renewal.
Mario Bartel and Janis Cleugh described how Glacier Media closed their three online publications in British Columbia in the middle of a federal election, creating a news desert, and how they launched Freshet News as a non-profit co-operative to fill the gap. They said that while the community has responded strongly, supports for journalism start-ups are lacking, as grant opportunities are often a poor fit and they cannot issue tax receipts without charitable status. They asked for infrastructure support for things like advertising sales, software, and distribution, noting that the Local Journalism Initiative does not cover those costs.
Raj Shoan argued that journalism is democratic infrastructure and that the federal government should not weaken the Online News Act or the Online Streaming Act, expand the journalism labour tax credit to include broadcasters, close a tax loophole for advertising on foreign digital platforms, and direct at least 25% of its advertising budget to domestic news organizations. Randy Kitt added that Unifor represents 9,000 media workers and that failing to stabilize journalism means surrendering jobs and sovereignty, urging the government to treat journalism like a national park that must be nurtured and funded.
Mike Fegelman alleged that the CBC and other Canadian media outlets have shown systematic bias against Israel, particularly since October 7, 2023, by refusing to call Hamas terrorists and by elevating radical voices. He argued that this coverage directly contributes to a spike in anti-Jewish hate crimes in Canada. Haran Shani-Narkiss and Amanda Eskenasi said their scientific study found asymmetric coverage by the CBC, with headlines promoting one side of the story, and that this one-sided narrative demonizes an entire group and fuels anger on the streets.
Paul Deegan stated that news publishers face the theft of their intellectual property by AI companies on an industrial scale and that Google's AI-generated summaries deprive publishers of audience and revenue. He asked the government to require AI suppliers to sign agreements on ethical use of content, to have the Competition Bureau examine search and AI competition, and to not weaken the Copyright Act. He said the Online News Act is working and should be maintained, and he called for the federal government to direct a meaningful portion of its advertising budget to Canadian news brands, noting that less than $2 million of $75 million in federal ad spending went to newspapers last year.
The committee also debated and adopted a motion from Martin Champoux to invite CBC/Radio-Canada CEO Marie-Philippe Bouchard to appear for two hours to explain the decision to make ICI-RDI programming available on Amazon's Prime Video platform before making it available on a Canadian-owned platform. An amendment was adopted to add a second meeting to hear from other witnesses on the same topic, and it was agreed that this study would be the committee's priority after the current study on journalism and media.
AI-generated summary — may contain errors; verify against the official evidence.