Yes. This bill has nothing to do with anything but journalism. Currently, Bill C-18 represents the defence, health and raison d'être of journalism in Canada, and nothing else.
The claim that the big companies will pocket all the money stemming from the provisions of Bill C-18, and that the small companies will not get a cent, is simply not true. I myself manage a small company. I need this money. I need it for my newsroom, my journalists, my photographers, my proofreaders, my editorial writers and my editors-in-chief. I need that money, and I need the protection of a bill like this one.
I'm speaking on behalf of 250 journalists and 40 publishers in Quebec. I am also speaking on behalf of, and Mr. Deegan will probably agree with me, every publisher in Quebec and across Canada, from Newfoundland to Vancouver Island.
Thank you.