Discussion · Government Orders
Andréanne Larouche Bloc Québécois
“The government says it supports culture, but it ignores local and community media. Big internet companies take ad money and do not pay their share, which hurts our local news. Without local media, no one will report on the culture in our regions.”
“Mr. Speaker, my colleague opposite boasts about helping culture by helping Radio-Canada, among others. We have nothing against Radio-Canada. The issue is that, too often, the government’s support completely ignores local and community media, which are part of Quebec’s cultural and media ecosystems. Not enough is set aside for them. However, they are among the first to pay the price for this injustice. On top of not paying their share, the web giants are also collecting all the advertising revenue, which is hurting local media on the ground. On top of that, there is a double loss. Since there are fewer local media outlets, who is going to talk about culture, about what is happening at home, in Granby, if not the local media? Who is going to talk about what is happening in the Gaspé and Abitibi? Local media plays an essential and important role, but it is being completely ignored by the government.”
Mr. Speaker, my colleague opposite boasts about helping culture by helping Radio-Canada, among others. We have nothing against Radio-Canada. The issue is that, too often, the government’s support completely ignores local and community media, which are part of Quebec’s cultural and media ecosystems. Not enough is set aside for them. However, they are among the first to pay the price for this injustice. On top of not paying their share, the web giants are also collecting all the advertising revenue, which is hurting local media on the ground. On top of that, there is a double loss. Since there are fewer local media outlets, who is going to talk about culture, about what is happening at home, in Granby, if not the local media? Who is going to talk about what is happening in the Gaspé and Abitibi? Local media plays an essential and important role, but it is being completely ignored by the government.