Thank you.
Minister, thank you for making time to be here with us today.
My first question is as follows.
Yesterday, there was an announcement made with regard to Google and the government making a deal. Before I get into that, maybe I'll preface it. You stated that the Liberal government put Bill C-18 forward to “fix a commercial and power imbalance between tech giants and our news media sector.”
The deal that was entered into yesterday between Google and the government would actually appear to show that Google forced the hand of the government. Google got everything it wanted: $100 million spent, one agreement and one collective chosen by Google on their terms. It's clear then that big tech is actually in the driver's seat.
Is this your idea of fixing the power imbalance that exists between big tech and the news industry—by giving them more control?