Canadian Heritage Committee on March 12th, 2026

[The Chair, Liberal, Lisa Hepfner]

Welcome to meeting number 27 of the Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage.

Before we begin, I'd ask you to read the guidelines written on the updated cards on your table. They are measures in place to help prevent feedback incidents and to protect the health and safety of all participants, including our interpreters. You will notice that there's a QR code on the card, which links to a short awareness video if you need more information. Please wait until I recognize you by name before you speak. All comments should be addressed through the chair.

Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and the motion adopted by the committee on Monday, September 22, 2025, the committee is meeting to study the state of the journalism and media sectors. It looks like we have a big panel here today.

We have Marie‑Eve Carignan, full professor and UNESCO chair in the prevention of violent radicalization and extremism, Université de Sherbrooke, as an individual.

We have, from the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, Cheryl McKenzie, executive director; Mike Omelus, executive director of content and programming; and Joel Fortune, legal counsel. Welcome.

We also have with us today, from Accessible Media Inc., David Errington, president and CEO; and Kevin Goldstein, outside regulatory counsel.

From the Canadian Ethnic Media Association, we are joined by Kiumars Rezvanifar, president; and Madeline Ziniak, chair.

Each organization will have five minutes for an opening statement, and then we'll invite questions from members.

We'll start with Ms. Carignan.

You have the floor for five minutes.

[Marie-Eve Carignan, Full Professor, UNESCO Chair in the Prevention of Violent Radicalization and Extremism, Université de Sherbrooke, As an Individual]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you for the invitation today.

I'll start by saying a few words about my background, as well as why I'm speaking to you today. I was an analyst and communications manager at the Quebec Press Council for seven years. The Quebec Press Council is the informal tribunal for the press in Quebec, so it's a media self-regulatory body. At the council, I focused on the media's professional and ethical framework. For the past 12 or so years, I have been a communications and public information professor at the Université de Sherbrooke. My research focuses on journalistic practices, media ethics, the impact of media in society and disinformation.

Today, I wanted to talk to you about the media not only as a public good, but also as a public good with significant responsibility.

It's important for the media to be considered a public good, since they're unlike any other businesses, given their essential role in democracy and in serving the public, that is, Canadians. Everyone can benefit from them. For that reason, public intervention is necessary to fund them.

With that in mind, it's necessary to maintain and strengthen the financial sustainability measures that the Canadian government has already adopted because, as you know, traditional advertising revenue for media is continuing to decline. There has been a $6 billion drop since 2008, in favour of major American digital platforms.

Measures such as the Online News Act are essential to the survival of these media outlets and must be strengthened. Countries would benefit from coordinating their efforts to adopt stronger common measures and work together to perhaps carry more weight in the face of these web giants.

The Canadian journalism labour tax credit also needs to be maintained and strengthened, in my opinion.

It's important to fund journalism, which has significant added value for the public, particularly fact-based journalism, investigative journalism and science journalism.

Measures must be taken to promote local media because of their importance. There is cause for concern about certain news deserts where local news and municipal political coverage are entirely non-existent. There are certain regions, particularly in Quebec, that are covered by a single media outlet and sometimes by a single journalist. These are sometimes vast areas that are very difficult to cover.

As an example of the importance of local news, our research on the Lac‑Mégantic rail tragedy enabled us to demonstrate the crucial role of local media in a crisis. In the context of that crisis, local radio was truly an essential driver in making it possible for the public to know the appropriate public health measures to take. Those measures weren't reported in the national media, so the only place the public could learn how to act was in local media, including local radio. That makes it necessary to fund these media outlets, which are essential in crises, and to include measures for these media in tax programs.

In another report that our team submitted to Quebec's department of culture and communications in 2023, we also demonstrated the essential role of indigenous media in serving these communities. These communities feel under-represented by the national media. Indigenous media face pressing issues in terms of human and material resources and training for professional journalists. They need recurrent funding. Project-based funding is particularly restrictive and ill-suited to their situation. They also need a better structure for collecting advertising revenue, including government advertising. In fact, a number of the stakeholders we interviewed during this study explained to us how much government advertising had helped save their media outlets during the COVID‑19 pandemic. It was essential for them, and many of them would have shut down.

A public good like the media obviously also entails a significant social responsibility. We're facing rising disinformation in a world where the Canadian public is still heavily relying on social media for information. Despite the fact that Meta blocked news sharing, various data, including from the Digital News Report 2025, actually still show that a large number of Canadians, one in four or five, continue to get their news from Facebook. That's extremely concerning. It's important to provide the public with diverse sources of information so that people can deal with this rise in online disinformation.

The results of another survey we conducted during the pandemic enabled us to demonstrate that the public sometimes had emotional expectations of the media during crises. The media is accused of being too critical at times, of not being critical enough at other times, or, when fatigue sets in, of over-reporting a crisis, such as the ice storm. In fact, every party involved views the crisis as their crisis, and people sometimes get an impression of media bias when it may also be a subjective perception of the impacts of the crisis and uncertainty. In any case, the blurring of journalistic genres—between information and opinion—fuels a certain public distrust of the news.

In another study that my colleague Marc‑François Bernier and I conducted in 2023, we were able to demonstrate that while the majority of respondents believed that events unfolded as reported by the media, many had doubts about the independence of journalists and news businesses when it came to politics and the economy, in particular.

That's why media accountability is so important. If media outlets are public goods, they have to put structures in place to demonstrate that they're meeting ethical standards and ensure that they're accountable to the public. The public needs transparency and more awareness of journalistic practices. Media literacy is key to understanding news sources and choosing them wisely, especially in the context of the rise of artificial intelligence and deepfakes.

Investing in training for journalists, particularly those who work in community media, and providing them with the resources to develop the technological and digital tools necessary for their discoverability is essential to their survival. Pooling those resources would be a good opportunity for those media outlets.

In short, in a world in crisis, and given the rise of disinformation and biased sources, it's important to present the media as a public good that must be funded accordingly, but which must also be accountable for its actions because of its social responsibility.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Lisa Hepfner]

Thank you, Ms. Carignan.

We will go next to the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network.

Collectively, you have five minutes.

[Cheryl McKenzie, Executive Director, News and Current Affairs, Aboriginal Peoples Television Network]

Thank you very much.

Good morning, Madam Chair and members of the committee. Thank you for inviting us to appear today.

APTN News brings indigenous perspectives to Canada's national conversation. We do it to the highest professional journalistic standards. From day one, we have ensured journalistic independence and editorial integrity. Those uncompromising principles were established by the late and renowned news director Dan David when APTN News was first built. They continue to guide how we operate today. Our journalists follow the same rigorous standards you would expect from any major news organization in Canada.

What makes APTN different is the indigenous perspective. We cover stories that you won't see anywhere else, which make up much of our reporting, and we also cover the national and global stories that every network is covering. APTN invests heavily in journalism. We operate bureaus across the country and send reporters wherever the story requires, even when that travel is difficult and expensive. Recently, our journalists travelled to Greenland to report on the Inuit perspective regarding threats of a U.S. takeover. We also travel throughout Canada and to many remote communities. We recently travelled to Resolute Bay and Grise Fiord to report on the changing way of life due to melting sea ice.

This kind of reporting takes time and resources. While many television news reports today run under 90 seconds, APTN stories often run three or four minutes, and sometimes longer. That time matters. It allows our journalists to explain the story, include community voices and report the full story, because first nation, Inuit and Métis communities are complex.

APTN produces one of the few remaining stand-alone investigative news programs in Canada. Our journalism has received national recognition, including Canada's most prestigious journalism honour, the Michener Award. But the most important measure is the trust we work for with our communities. No other media outlet in Canada can match the volume and breadth of indigenous news coverage that APTN accomplishes. As indigenous peoples, we are the ones who need to be telling our own stories.

I'll now turn things over to my colleague Mike Omelus.

[Mike Omelus, Executive Director, Content and Programming Strategy, Aboriginal Peoples Television Network]

Thank you, Cheryl.

Good morning, everyone.

Canada's media system is under real pressure. The alarm bells are already ringing.

The Canadian broadcasting system is going through an extremely difficult time. Changes in the media market are threatening the ability of Canadian broadcasters to continue producing journalism and other programs that reflect our country. The fundamental question is this: Will Canada still have the necessary media institutions to tell its own stories?

APTN relies primarily on our subscriber fee and advertising revenue to operate, but all of this is at risk. The broadcasting ecosystem is being reshaped by global streaming platforms. They operate widely in Canada and make billions in revenue, but they don't yet make nearly the same level of contribution to the Canadian system that we expect from Canadian broadcasters. This is not sustainable for the Canadian system and for Canadian broadcast media. That's why APTN has proposed that the CRTC establish a services of exceptional importance fund designed to support broadcasters that provide essential public value to Canadians. This and other measures are necessary for Canadians and Canadian stories to have a meaningful presence online.

Indigenous journalism, storytelling and language preservation all depend on a healthy Canadian broadcasting system, as does journalistic integrity, we believe. You can't protect journalistic integrity if the newsroom disappears. It's time for all hands on deck. Media organizations and newsrooms across Canada are at risk of disappearing, and APTN is no exception.

Thank you.

We look forward to your questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Lisa Hepfner]

Thank you very much.

Cheryl, I would love to have had three or four minutes to tell a news story back in my day. You're right that they're 90 seconds to two minutes.

Accessible Media is next.

David Errington and Kevin Goldstein, you have five minutes, starting now.

[David Errington, President and Chief Executive Officer, Accessible Media Inc.]

Good morning.

Accessible Media Inc., or AMI, would like to thank the committee for the opportunity to appear before you this morning to offer its views on the state of the media industry in Canada.

My name is David Errington, and I am president and CEO. With me today is Kevin Goldstein of Goldstein Communications Law, AMI's outside regulatory counsel.

AMI is a Canadian content company that entertains, informs and empowers persons with disabilities through the offering of original content that reflects diversity and inclusion. AMI operates three broadcast services: AMI-tv, AMI-audio in English and AMI-télé in French. Each of these services benefits from a mandatory carriage order from the CRTC, which requires Canada's cable and satellite companies to distribute AMI services to all their subscribers and to pay AMI a monthly fee per subscriber set by the commission. AMI's vision is to establish a supportive voice for the one in four Canadians with a disability, representing their interests, concerns and values through accessible media reflection and portrayal.

This study comes at a critical time for the Canadian media sector. For well over a decade, the Canadian broadcasting system has been undergoing a significant structural change driven by the emergence of foreign-owned Internet streaming platforms such as Netflix, Prime Video and Disney+, and to related declines in subscriptions to traditional cable, IPTV and satellite providers.

AMI services and other public interest channels like them play a very important role in the Canadian broadcasting system and make immeasurable contributions to the communities they serve. Together, we form a cornerstone of Canada's democratic, cultural, linguistic and accessible ecosystems, bringing trusted public interest programming to Canadians in every region of the country.

However, it is important to recognize that these channels are directed at niche audiences and would not exist without regulatory intervention. Historically, these revenues have come almost entirely from monthly subscriber fees that cable, IPTV and satellite companies pay. Subscribers to these distributors are cutting the cord and migrating towards streaming providers, which has had a dramatic impact on public interest broadcasters like AMI, putting their ongoing viability at risk.

Compounding the problem is that CRTC has generally been unwilling to consider changes to the rates that broadcast distributors pay to public interest services, except as part of a formal licence renewal process. Licence renewals are supposed to occur every five years, but, given the recent overhaul of the Broadcasting Act and the CRTC's efforts to revise its regulatory framework as a result, licence renewals for these channels are now unlikely to occur before 2027, a full nine years after the last renewals were considered. Moreover, AMI's television services have never had a rate increase in their nearly two decades of existence.

AMI's annual revenues are now well over $4 million less than they were when AMI's licence was last renewed in 2018, and they continue to decline. This financial reality has forced AMI to restructure its operations, reduce its workforce and shift the ways it produces programming, but this is only a temporary fix. While increasing the rates broadcast distributors pay by a reasonable amount is part of the solution, we respectfully submit that a more comprehensive approach is needed. The CRTC is currently considering what financial contribution streaming platforms should make to the system, and AMI and others have argued that a portion of such expenditures must go to support public interest channels—something that is now specifically contemplated under the Broadcasting Act.

Furthermore, in 2024, the government committed $10 million over two years to help address funding shortfalls for public interest services. This funding was recently renewed for an additional two years but at a lower amount. While we truly appreciate this funding, it is far from enough. Over the next three years, the public interest services that are eligible to tap into these funds expect to face a funding shortfall of more than $38 million.

What we desperately need is reliable, sustainable funding. This involves a dedicated envelope of funds from the federal government for an extended period of time and at levels substantially greater than $10 million. This, coupled with increased funding from broadcast distributors and required contributions from streaming platforms, would help stabilize the operations of public interest channels for the long term. Without such support, however, the viability of our channels and their ability to deliver on their mandates are in serious doubt.

AMI would like to thank the committee for the opportunity to provide these comments, and we would be pleased to answer any questions you may have.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Lisa Hepfner]

Thank you.

Finally, we have the Canadian Ethnic Media Association.

You have five minutes.

[Kiumars Rezvanifar, President, Canadian Ethnic Media Association]

Good morning, Madam Chair and committee members. On behalf of the Canadian Ethnic Media Association, we would like to thank you for the opportunity to appear before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage for the study of the journalism and media sectors.

I am Kiumars Rezvanifar, president of the Canadian Ethnic Media Association, and also, for the last 33 years, an independent television producer for the Iranian communities in Canada. With me is Ms. Madeline Ziniak, chair of the Canadian Ethnic Media Association and a recipient of the Order of Canada for her work in multilingual and multicultural media.

The Canadian Ethnic Media Association, CEMA, was founded in 1978, and is a not-for-profit, volunteer-based organization whose membership of journalists, producers and writers from all media platforms serves as a voice for Canada's diverse ethnic media sector. For the past 48 years CEMA, as part of its mandate, has supported the principles of Canadian citizenship, multiculturalism and the right to free expression without ethnocentric bias. CEMA has also annually produced juried national awards of journalistic excellence in order to recognize, inspire and platform the exceptional work and talent in Canada's ethnic media.

We are here today to address serious issues facing the independent multilingual community television producers sector in Canada. Our media platforms, reaching millions of weekly viewers, target underserved communities across Canada whose language of comfort is neither English nor French. This is to inform you that this is the only Canadian media sector without any dedicated federal support, despite being essential to trusted multilingual communication and outreach.

Unfortunately, in spite of statements made by government representatives, none of the independent multilingual television community producers have any access to any funding, specifically the Canada Media Fund, the Google news fund, the local journalism initiative, or the Canadian journalism labour tax credit. In fact, the criteria for all these funds are prohibitive and punitive to the independent ethnic community producer sector.

Now I will ask Ms. Madeline Ziniak to continue with our presentation.

[Madeline Ziniak, Chair, Canadian Ethnic Media Association]

Thank you, Kiumars.

There is a critical need for an equitable playing field for independent ethnic community producers that is commensurate with Canada's multilingual population. The described landscape has resulted in the demise of many Canadian multilingual media platforms. This challenging environment continues to threaten the fragile multicultural media sector due to systemic exclusion to any existing government-supported funding.

This sector not only reflects the multicultural-ethnocultural identity of Canada, but also acts as a conduit for crucial trusted communication, inclusive of government outreach. A pertinent example to cite is that, during the COVID-19 lockdowns, we provided vital health information to diverse audiences in their mother tongue who otherwise may not have had access to critical life-saving information. It is also important to note that this media sector, without access to funding structures and Canadian government support, could become vulnerable to foreign influence and disinformation, contributing to a potential risk of national security.

According to Statistics Canada, one in four Canadians speaks a language at home other than French or English. The revised Broadcasting Act mandates support for the production and broadcasting of programs in a diversity of languages. We need to be able to contribute to the development and sustainability of a more inclusive Canadian media environment.

The Canadian Ethnic Media Association has been in discussions, for years with relevant levels of government identifying our issues and proposing recommendations. It is in this spirit today that we welcome this opportunity to present the issues concerning the Canadian independent ethnic community producer sector. We are Canada.

Merci. Meegwetch. Ba Sepas. Diakuiu. Thank you.

We look forward to your questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Lisa Hepfner]

Thank you all for your very succinct and pointed opening statements.

I now turn to Mrs. Thomas. You have six minutes.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Thank you.

My first question is for Canadian Ethnic Media Association.

In your opening remarks, you said that, without the right support for ethnic media to continue to exist in Canada, it makes those who are a part of different ethnic communities here in our country vulnerable, perhaps, to misinformation or disinformation. It also makes them vulnerable to foreign influence.

My hope is that you can take a minute and expand on the vulnerability that exists there.

[Madeline Ziniak]

I'll begin to answer that and then pass it over to Kiu, who has a real-life experience of what is really going on.

Without support from Canada, you have ethnic media that is often voluntary or that has to be subsidized by other businesses in order to continue its television programming and production of ethnic content. There are many occasions that have been cited where foreign governments have come forward and said, “We will support your media entity. However, if we do so financially, you will have to include some of this editorial.”

Many independent producers, Kiu being one of them, have refused this support based on the information they would have to carry, which would not be through a Canadian perspective, especially at this time of polarized environments.

I think we're living through an extremely challenging time, certainly for ethnocultural communities that are dedicated to a Canadian ethnocultural perspective. They are the thread that is binding communities in Canada and a voice that is trusted in the mother tongue. It's very important to get accurate information. Often, those whose language is not French or English have a problem in interpreting distinctly the information that comes forward.

Now I'll ask Kiu to give his own life experience of the situation.

[Kiumars Rezvanifar]

Last year I was approached by CBC because there was a study done by the government. It found that foreign influence is another issue for national security. For that matter, 33 years ago, when I started my program and I was not that known, I was approached by the government because I started the business. Three different times, they approached me and wanted to help me. The funny thing was that they were telling me that I had the same mandate they had, which is to promote the culture, promote everything. However, we are smarter than that. We knew what was going to happen. Three different times, I refused. The reason I refused is why I'm here now. For that matter, I'm aware of several media outlets that fell into that trap, and they don't exist anymore. For that matter, yes, there's a price to pay if you are going that route.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

I find it interesting that you were able to stand up against the Iranian regime and not accept their funding. Thank you for standing for truth.

[Kiumars Rezvanifar]

It's my duty.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

Interestingly enough, in January this year, Iranian protesters gathered outside of CBC/Radio-Canada demanding more objective coverage of what was and is happening in Iran. One of the things they were advocating for was, “CBC, tell the truth."

A media outlet like yours is committed to telling the truth. Why is that so important in an environment where that doesn't seem to be the case, even from our main media outlets in this country?

[Kiumars Rezvanifar]

We are fighting that. In fact, for the past two months we've seen a total media blackout from all levels, not only the media, but even the human rights advocates.

I'm part of that organization behind the scenes organizing all of these rallies and everything else. We have created a kind of brand for ourselves.

I remember one of of the rallies. I believe there were 150,000 people in downtown Toronto. We received only 20 seconds of exposure from one of the media outlets. It seems like every day that happens. That itself is news, if you want to cover it.

We heard that there are—I don't want to name them—certain mentalities and views in that organization that led them to not give us the coverage. That's for the whole community. It's not that often we go to a broadcaster and demand that, but it's been so obvious, so clear. This is news that has been covered all over the world, in every aspect, and our main broadcaster tries to look the other way, or at least it doesn't give it the attention it deserves for Canadians, not only for us. Right now, we are not living in a global village; we live in a global neighbourhood. Everything that happens anywhere affects us right now. It is kind of sad and disappointing that we really rely on that organization to give us our story. We've been educating Canadians of what's going on because, unfortunately, they are not getting the real truth. We should be getting it from the CBC.

[Madeline Ziniak]

If I may add, I think the ethnic media sector is dedicated to contributing to democracy in Canada. Many of the communities are here because of that. As we live in a more turbulent world, we know that democracy is being whittled away. It's so important to have a Canadian ethnocultural perspective in news as a reflection of the community dynamics and the support there.

In this world of increasing polarization, it's very important to have this binding thread in media, in the language of your comfort and specifically, in the independent ethnic producer segment, which as we said, would really appreciate being able to have some kind of support. It's a distinct category and has not been recognized to date in the broadcasting arena, as far as support is concerned.

[The Chair, Liberal, Lisa Hepfner]

Thank you.

Mr. Al Soud, you have six minutes.

[Fares Al Soud, Liberal, Mississauga Centre, ON]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you all for being with us today.

A healthy media ecosystem is one where everyone can see themselves reflected in the stories being told. Everyone deserves access to news.

My first question will be for APTN.

Ms. McKenzie, Mr. Omelus and Mr. Fortune, thank you for being with us.

Indigenous media organizations play a unique and vital role in Canada's media ecosystem. They ensure that indigenous voices are heard, that stories are told authentically and that communities, particularly in remote regions, have access to culturally relevant journalism.

Ms. McKenzie, you said that as indigenous peoples, you are the ones who should be telling your own stories. In your experience, what kinds of stories or perspectives are most often missed when indigenous journalism is absent from the media landscape?

[Cheryl McKenzie]

It's that real lived experience in the communities by the people doing the work in journalism. You can spend your whole day doing something you're absolutely dedicated to and so passionate about. You can do the research and the work. Then you present that and go home for the day, but all of the subject matter you dealt with for that entire day has no impact on your family. You don't think about it. It doesn't affect your life. You don't think about your weekend plans. It doesn't affect your ability to go to work the next day because of things happening in your family.

I think that having indigenous journalists doing indigenous journalism would give you the deeper context that the headlines and those shorter stories are just not able to get to.

[Fares Al Soud, Liberal, Mississauga Centre, ON]

That's an interesting idea—reflected experience finding itself in those spaces where others can then turn that into reflected experience.

APTN plays a critical role in ensuring that indigenous communities see themselves reflected in national media. What are the biggest structural challenges indigenous broadcasters face in reaching audiences today?

[Cheryl McKenzie]

It absolutely has to be about the resources to do it. APTN gets its money primarily from cable subscriptions, and we all know the direction that cable subscriptions are going. It means decreased revenue, year after year, for broadcasters like APTN.

We also have rating systems in Canada that are not truly capturing the audience that actually watches APTN. It's focused a lot on the southern communities. There's barely any measure. I know there is work being done to change the way television consumption is measured to capture those true audiences for us, but it's just not happening fast enough. It affects our bottom line and our revenue when it comes to marketing. Everyone looks at those ratings numbers and says, “Sorry, but we can't help you there,” even though it's not a true reflection.

We have done more with less over the years, in recent years especially. We absolutely have to be on the digital scene. I'm very proud of the work our staff does. They just go ahead and charge forward. They have so many ideas and get them out there, and we do our television broadcasts. They get everything onto digital.

We just relaunched our new news app. It was down for a little while because of the upgrade, but you can find it now.

I could go on and on, but I think I should leave it there for your questions.

[Mike Omelus]

If I may elaborate on the rating system, there are many structural issues, and ratings are just one of them. Numeris is the primary currency that advertisers and major broadcasters use to determine audiences. There is no measurement, or there's very little measurement, in rural areas. There is no measurement in any of the three territories. There is no measurement of satellite, and that has a huge impact on our audience numbers through the regular system that is being used.

There is some experimentation with set-top box data that has been under way for at least a dozen years. Preliminary testing shows an increase of well over 30% in APTN's ratings, so that says the current system is flawed. It's one of the issues we face.