Discussion · Government Orders
Andréanne Larouche Bloc Québécois
“Big web companies take most of the ad money and do not pay their fair share here, which hurts local media. The government also promised $600 million to help the cultural sector, but has still not paid it. I want the government to promise to pay that $600 million right away.”
“Mr. Speaker, I would like to point out once again that we are talking about culture, of course. Personally, what I would have liked to hear my colleague talk about is the fact that the cultural sector is currently being deprived of significant revenue from levies and, above all, the $600 million that had been promised to them as compensation has still not been paid out. My colleague talks about the media. As I mentioned earlier in my speech, local media outlets, in particular, are struggling to attract advertising because, obviously, it is the greedy web giants that are taking the lion’s share of the revenue. What is more, they are not paying their fair share here, while local and community media outlets are trying to find ways to get by. In this context, I would have preferred to hear my colleague commit to handing over the $600 million as soon as possible.”
Mr. Speaker, I would like to point out once again that we are talking about culture, of course. Personally, what I would have liked to hear my colleague talk about is the fact that the cultural sector is currently being deprived of significant revenue from levies and, above all, the $600 million that had been promised to them as compensation has still not been paid out. My colleague talks about the media. As I mentioned earlier in my speech, local media outlets, in particular, are struggling to attract advertising because, obviously, it is the greedy web giants that are taking the lion’s share of the revenue. What is more, they are not paying their fair share here, while local and community media outlets are trying to find ways to get by. In this context, I would have preferred to hear my colleague commit to handing over the $600 million as soon as possible.