Thank you.
Thank you to everybody on the committee for providing me with the opportunity to explain to you my view on the current crises—and I use the plural here—facing the Canadian media industry right now.
I am speaking to you today as president of the Canadian Association of Journalists. For those committee members who have never heard of us, the association is the national voice of Canadian journalists in all types of media. It represents more than 1,000 members across the country.
For nearly a half of a century, the CAJ's mission has been at the forefront of providing members with high-quality professional development training opportunities and to engage in public interest advocacy work that supports all Canadians' right to know. This includes subjects such as access to information, transparency, public disclosure and ensuring that Canadian journalists are free to exercise their constitutionally protected role to report on matters in the public interest.
Given that I have limited time to offer opening remarks, and in light of some of the outstanding quality of the testimony that has already been offered by witnesses to this committee, I am going to refrain from rehashing everything that's already been read into the public record.
My reason, though, for attending and wanting to speak with you today is to present a rather clear and unequivocal message: Many journalists in Canada are hurting.
We are hurting financially, as salaries do not keep up with inflation. We are hurting financially when staff positions are replaced by internships, or not replaced at all. We are hurting emotionally, oscillating between the challenges of navigating an increasingly hostile world while trying to ignore the deep feelings of anxiety about when the next so-called “cutdown day” will come. It's a reality. It's a proverbial Sword of Damocles that hangs over our collective heads.
We are also hurting developmentally, as professional development budgets have been slashed. Just think about it: Talented musicians need to practice. Olympic-level athletes spend hours in the gym and developing robust dietary regimens. Journalists too need training to ensure their skills are kept sharp in order to navigate an increasingly opaque and hostile world. The training, unfortunately, has become a luxury and not a necessity.
I challenge you to imagine a profession that is so essential to the smooth functioning of democracy, and yet whose conditions are so difficult for those on the front line of the battle between truth, lies and disinformation.
Seldom does a week go by when I don't speak to journalists who have played the game the right way, only to be left with their hands palms to the sky, trying to figure out what to do next and why they're continuing to devote their life to the craft of journalism. However, right now I can also say at this very minute that there are hundreds of early-career journalists who are working in communities across the country as part of the local journalism initiative. Rather than thinking about their next assignment, I suspect many of their minds are on whether they will have jobs come April, as funding has not been renewed as of yet. It's code red, and I hope you hear the alarm sounding.
While I'm grateful to the committee for wanting to organize a national forum on the media, I fear that, as Mr. Champoux pointed out a few meetings ago, this decision comes 10 years too late. Alas, time is running out.
The future of journalism is predicated on making tough choices, perhaps unpopular ones. However, I will appropriate an old baseball metaphor: It's better to go down swinging than to be caught looking at strike three with the bat resting on your shoulder.
I look forward to a healthy conversation with members of this committee this afternoon and I'm happy to provide some insights on potential actions that could be taken.
Thank you.