Thank you, Chair.
Thank you, Minister and officials, for being here today.
Minister, I want to start by congratulating you on the deal that you announced yesterday. I think it's really good news.
News is so important. It's so important to Canada and to Canadians. I know this viscerally because, as you know, I was a member of the media for many years.
In Hamilton alone we're very well served by many media outlets. I think of CHML radio and The Hamilton Spectator, where I worked in the late nineties. I think of CHCH news, which is the TV station where I worked for 20 years. I know, from the people of Hamilton, how important it was for them to have their own stories told and to have these local voices.
We know this legislation is not going to solve all the problems. The news industry is really in a crisis. This legislation is not a panacea. It is not going to solve everything, but I think it will really help. What we have heard a lot of is, with Google and Facebook backing out of news, why don't we back down from this legislation? We're hearing that we need these services and we also need news, so let's just drop it all.
Please explain to this committee why it was so important not to back down, to continue with the fight and to continue talking with Google.