In short, the bill is about putting that obligation on platforms to bargain. Then the exemption criteria benefit independent local news businesses by saying that in the context of that bargaining obligation, some of that bargaining has to be with them. When the CRTC looks at all of the agreements that are being brought forward to justify an exemption, again, they have to see that “a significant portion of independent local news businesses benefit from” those agreements, and that it contributes to their sustainability.
Again, the intention behind the exemption process was not that every news business be entitled to an agreement but that there be certain discretion left to the free market for the DNIs and the news businesses to determine that. At the end of the day, the CRTC assesses whether enough has been done in relation to these criteria.