By Canadian Press

Liberal changes to media aid plan hint at speedier spending, industry group says

Apr 20, 2020 | 10:46 AM

OTTAWA — A news-industry association says the federal government’s planned changes to its  financial aid for news outlets in Canada should allow more of them to qualify for the financial help.

The Liberals first unveiled a $595 million five-year package of help for the news industry in the 2019 budget, promising, among other things, refundable tax credits to cover one-quarter of salaries for journalists at qualifying outlets.

Some of the rules for accessing the spending were worded in a way that, for instance, if one small paper in a large chain took advantage of a different program offering help for publishers, the entire organization was banned from the new aid.

John Hinds, CEO of News Media Canada, says the suite of legislative changes the Liberals have unveiled should capture a broader range of news organizations by dropping that prohibition.

Another change would remove a requirement for a labour tax credit that qualifying outlets be “primarily” engaged in news production, and instead allow newsroom employees to spend one-quarter of their time on promoting goods and services.

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Hinds says the package of changes may also be an indication that the Liberals intend to speed up disbursement of funds to an industry that has seen demand spike in the COVID-19 pandemic, but revenues plunge.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 20, 2020.

The Canadian Press