MLA calls on Ottawa to expand newspaper support

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This article was published 02/06/2021 (1668 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — A Manitoba government backbencher says Ottawa should expand newspaper subsidies to include weekly papers that serve rural communities.

“People more than ever need a reliable source of information, and community newspapers are exactly that. Local newspapers are an integral part of any community,” Josh Guenter, who represents Borderland, told the legislature.

On Tuesday, Guenter introduced a private member’s resolution calling on the federal government to expand eligibility of its journalism subsidy programs to include rural, northern and remote community newspapers.

He was referring to a three-prong support package the Trudeau government has provided daily newspapers and some online sites, which include a wage credit, a tax credit for subscribers and allowing news outlets to fundraise as non-profits.

Outlets that publish original news, employ two or more people and aren’t arms of political or business interests qualify for those subsidies, such as the Winnipeg Free Press and Brandon Sun.

But Guenter said criteria exclude many free weekly newspapers.

“Local newspapers are being left out there, to fend for themselves at a time when we need local, trusted voice more than ever,” Guenter said in an interview.

He said the federal subsidies might unintentionally allow big-city dailies to survive while local ones continue to fold.

“It’s just an unfair playing field; it’s got to be even,” said Guenter, who acknowledged that conservatives usually prefer open markets over government subsidies. “We’re working within the reality we exist in.”

He said local papers have helped fight COVID-19 vaccine myths in rural Manitoba, and that they keep politicians accountable, while getting the word out about local businesses. Guenter said he’s distressed by the closure of eight Manitoba newspapers a year ago, while social-media giants soak up ad revenue.

Federal subsidies have attracted critics, who argue government subsidies create a perception of a conflict of interest, or prevent upstarts from outcompeting legacy brands.

The legislature rose Tuesday for the summer, with its next sitting likely to occur in October. Guenter said he’s hoping for cross-party support.

The NDP noted Tuesday that the PC government had planned in 2018 to stop paying newspapers to publish public notices, though the government reversed course.

The office of federal Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault had no immediate response to the proposal.

Ottawa has operated postal and funding subsidies for smaller community newspapers for decades.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca