Thank you and good afternoon, Madam Chair, members of the committee and your incredible IT team.
I don't want to be here. My job is to report on what you do here. It's certainly not to be a part of it, and yet I feel like I don't have a choice. I founded The Logic almost five years ago, and we are Canada's leading business and tech newsroom. As an independent publisher with no lobbyists, no trade association backing and no allegiance to any start-up or legacy interests, but with 25 years of experience as a journalist, I'm one of the few people who can speak frankly about what's at stake with Bill C-18.
The fourth estate is a key part of a functioning democracy, and ours is in crisis. We know the depressing stats about the decline in original, in-depth reporting in Canada. All you need to do is to take a cursory glance at your own news feeds to see that there is no shortage of hot takes or articles amplifying hot takes on Twitter. You know this. It frustrates you too.
By contrast, brave and substantive reporting is critical to a high-functioning democracy, and, unlike reporting on those Twitter fights, that reporting costs money and time to produce. I have dedicated my life to this pursuit, which is why I'm here. The Logic invests heavily in journalism that makes Canada a better place to live and work by facilitating hard conversations through rich investigative and analytical reporting. These stories can be national in scope, like an investigative series on how Canada's charitable sector allocates its funding, or they can be local, like how automation is impacting the community of Brooks, Alberta.
Just this week, we launched a six-part series examining the strains in Canada's supply chains, beginning with an on-the-ground report from the port of Vancouver. This is vital work.
Because of the money already being paid by large tech companies to a select few Canadian publishers, we are now operating in an anti-competitive market that privileges some and risks starving this country's journalism ecosystem of the innovation it so desperately needs.
Day in and day out, our world-class team is paving a path for others to follow. What began five years ago with three people is now a national newsroom, with almost two dozen reporters across the country in six bureaus. This includes one of the only remaining English-language bureaus in Quebec. After decades of newsrooms cutting their core product, The Logic is proof that you can put journalism and journalists at the centre of your company.
Make no mistake—our competitors watch us closely. That is a good thing. That is how competition is supposed to work. It makes everyone better. Innovation takes time, yes, but it also requires a level playing field. We did not ask for any of this. The secret deals already struck by Meta and Google have created a market imbalance that gives competitors an unfair advantage in the war for talent, audience and distribution.
When The Logic tries to compete on merit against a publication bankrolled by the wealthiest family in Canada—one now being further underwritten by secret deals with the world's largest companies—how does that help foster journalism innovation?
The online news act seeks to rectify this imbalance. It is a backstop, forcing publishers and platforms to come to the table for fair, equitable and transparent agreements that don't privilege only those with negotiating power. Bill C-18 is a pro-competition bill.
It is also good for journalism. Without regulation, publishers who have already signed these secret deals are depending on the good faith of big tech firms to keep them in place. As an editor, I have some questions. How much are those deals worth? What has that money bought? What will happen when it's time to renew those deals? How can these tech giants be reported on fairly when publishers rely on those same companies to meet payroll?
Currently, we cannot answer any of those questions, because they're all covered under non-disclosure agreements. Bill C-18 forces those deals out into the open, and that is good for journalism.
As the saying goes, sunlight is the best disinfectant.
I am optimistic about the future of our craft. It takes time for news to regenerate. It takes time for young journalists to relearn what has been lost after decades of job cuts, and it takes time for today's start-ups to turn into tomorrow's leaders. If there's one thing that I hope you can take away from me today, it's that all of this much-needed innovation requires a level playing field. Bill C-18 seeks to correct an existing imbalance, which is why it needs to pass.
With that, I'm happy to take your questions.