Madam Chair, it's a wise decision on the part of my colleague Mr. Julian. I thank him for it and salute him.
BQ‑4 is near and dear to me because it adds journalistic rigour to Bill C‑18.
In preparation for the committee's work, I had the opportunity to speak with various journalism associations, including the Quebec Press Council, the Fédération professionnelle des journalistes du Québec and other stakeholders.
I was wondering how we could incorporate the basic principles of journalism, which are rigour, independence and fairness, into Bill C‑18. We have racked our brains to try to find the best possible wording—I know others have tried—but simplicity is always the most effective solution.
Therefore, through this amendment, I propose to add the following subparagraph to paragraph 27(1)(b) to require the following from an eligible news business:(iv) is a member of a recognized journalistic association, follows the code of ethics of a recognized journalistic association or has its own code of ethics whose standards of professional conduct require adherence to the recognized processes and principles of the journalism profession, including fairness, independence and rigour in reporting news and handling sources.
In my opinion, it makes perfect sense to ask businesses that will benefit from the framework put in place by Bill C‑18 to adhere to these ethical principles. If they are not members of a recognized journalistic organization or association, they must at least adhere to a code of ethics that meets those criteria if they do not have one. This amendment is quite permissive and quite broad. We're not requiring companies to be members of an organization or an association, but we're asking them to adhere to these principles and to commit to them.