Consider, for example, the Courrier de Saint-Hyacinthe, which has ten or so journalists in the field and which has been reporting on the city for 164 years.
In my opinion, a regional newspaper is quite simply a pillar of democracy. The rapid shift to digital advertising in the last 24 months, as Mr. Olivier said, is jeopardizing this role and threatening the strength of journalism in the region. Without strong regional journalism, everything is up in the air. As Mr. O'Reagan said, the ability to do investigative journalism and get to the bottom of issues can be diminished. We would not find out, for instance, that the mayor's friend owns a lot in the neighbourhood that has been re-zoned. Freedom of the press is part of the foundation of democracy, and that freedom must also exist in the regions. It must exist right across Canada, but especially in the regions.
Falling advertising revenues have left newspaper publishers in turmoil, in a downward spiral, which could soon lead to the closure of certain newspapers. When regional newspapers disappear, news coverage is greatly reduced. There is no reporting on local politicians, be they local MPs, MLAs, or the mayor. Facebook, Google and Yahoo will not provide this coverage since they are based in San Francisco and elsewhere in the world. They take advertising dollars out of the country.
The situation is critical, in my opinion. We must take a serious look at the challenge posed by digital advertising. We will probably need a lot of government help to support journalism and news coverage in the regions.