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French paper may not roll off the presses

Funding cuts jeopardize future

By: Mia Rabson

Posted: 05/19/2012 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

Sophie Gaulin, editor-in-chief at La Liberté, worries about the French newspaper's future because changes to the federal government's grants program have resulted in less funding. (PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ) Photo Store

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OTTAWA -- Manitoba's only French newspaper has an uncertain future as it prepares to absorb a 50 per cent cut in its federal funding by next year.

La Liberté, the oldest French newspaper in Western Canada, will see its federal subsidy fall to $100,000 this year from $120,000 in 2011. It will drop to $60,000 in 2013.

"It will have a huge impact," said La Liberté editor-in-chief Sophie Gaulin. "I still have the same amount of people working twice as hard. We can't carry on like this."

The change comes as the government puts the finishing touches on the relatively new Canadian Periodical Fund. For newspapers such as La Liberté, the CPF replaces the Publications Assistance Program, which offered help based on the number of copies of the paper sent through the mail. The CPF was launched in 2010 and the changes are being implemented over three years.

For La Liberté, the majority of its 6,500 copies are shipped by mail to readers across Manitoba.

The new CPF pays subsidies based on the total number of subscriptions. It means more non-daily newspapers qualify and some, which don't send any copies by mail, will get help for the first time. But for French-language papers in Alberta, Manitoba, Sudbury, Ont., and Nova Scotia, the new program means a major cut.

La Liberté has 10 staff and 30,000 readers.

The paper has already been cut in half from 40 pages to 20.

Further changes will likely be necessary, Gaulin said.

The fund is intended to help Canadian magazines and non-daily newspapers compete and maintain their productions to keep Canadian content reaching Canadian readers.

Francis Potié, executive director of the Association de la presse francophone, said it is going to cause major problems for the only French-language papers in these locations.

"I hesitate to say they're going to close, but it's going to be a big stress," he said.

Liberal Sen. Maria Chaput, the only francophone senator from Manitoba, wants the government to reconsider.

"I know for a fact that it was not the intention to do this," she said. "I want them to put in place a special fund to let newspapers such as La Liberté continue their work."

Last month, Heritage Minister James Moore denied the new funding rules penalize French-language papers. Under questioning from NDP MP Yvon Godin, Moore called the allegation "completely false."

His spokesman, James Maunder, acknowledged this week some papers are getting less but said the new program means more minority-language publications will receive support, some for the first time.

"We've met with industry associations, who were made aware of these changes last year," said Maunder.

"We are happy to meet again with any organization so they understand the program and can continue to benefit from it."

He also noted French papers get special treatment. For example, they require fewer subscriptions to receive funding and are exempted from minimum subscription prices.

On Friday, Moore's office contacted Potié to ask for another copy of the letter sent on behalf of the French minority papers.

Gaulin called that a hopeful sign.

"They haven't said they're changing their mind but he wants to review the issue," she said.

mia.rabson@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 19, 2012 A5

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