Thank you very much, Madam Chair.
When Bill C-18 was introduced, it was supposed to level the playing field. Here we have a public broadcaster that has between $1.3 billion and $1.5 billion. I see recently, in the fall economic update, it got $21 million for one year and another $21 million for next year, so a total of $42 million. That is not levelling the playing field.
The public broadcaster is absolutely destroying the digital sphere—if you don't mind me saying so—in this country. In Britain, BBC is allowed to spend a certain amount on digital. Here, CBC can spend a billion dollars on it if they wish. I think this is where, when we look at Bill C-18 and how small and medium newspapers, and small, medium and even large television and radio stations.... Right now, they really can't compete with CBC on the digital. CBC is killing them. CBC is hiring—as you've heard me say many times—the best journalists throughout Canada, throwing them on their web page, and they are doing very well on that.
We really have to have a long discussion around the table on this one. Should the public broadcaster be involved in any fees on Bill C-18? If they are, let me throw this out. Would the Liberal government reduce the budget of CBC by the amount they're going to get from Google and Facebook? There's the starting point.
I, for one, feel that the public broadcaster should not be included in Bill C-18. I'm trying to level the playing field. We have a public broadcaster that gave out bonuses during the pandemic. They gave out $15 million in bonuses. You tell me a station or a newspaper in this country that would give out $15 million in bonuses in the last two years. As you can see, the level playing field is not level at all. The public broadcaster is at the trough, and it's a big trough on Bill C-18—them along with Rogers and Bell. They're going to gobble up 75% to 80% of the money that....
Mr. Ripley, can you confirm those numbers with me for CBC, Bell and Rogers—the big media outlets in this country? Out of the $330 million that we suspect Facebook and Google will give through Bill C-18, they in fact will gobble up 75% of that. Can you confirm those numbers, please?