Canadian Heritage Committee on April 14th, 2026

[Robert Ranger]

We are passionate about our work. For the past 80 years, our main product has always been local news and local programming. Our production is 100% local.

You have to be a bit crazy to keep going with that, given what has happened in recent years. For every small gain, something else happens and we slip back again. You've seen the declines in national revenues. Google is a breath of fresh air, but on the other hand it doesn't even cover our revenue losses from networks. So it's always a small step forward and then a step backwards right after.

For our part, we have been cutting and downsizing in Abitibi and Gatineau for the past 10 years. TVA has done that more than once, once just recently. For our part, we have been streamlining our operations for 10 years and increasing our efficiency. A journalist is now responsible for filming a report, editing and captioning it and sending it to the machine for broadcast. We have 20 journalists in the regions; that's not insignificant. Costs are going up though, but grants are going down.

Let me answer the question about the independence of an organization that receives grants. As Madam Chair said, the sales department is on one side and the news is on the other side. There's no connection between the two. We have done reports on our largest customer in Gatineau, whom I won't name. It also happened in Abitibi, in the Horne Smelter case, and there was a public debate in that market. We reported on it, because it is our duty to do so. Whether we receive a tax credit or a LINF grant, we want to do more and more.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

I don't have much time left, but I'd like to know something.

Sometimes tough words are needed, but some radio stations are at risk of being shut down. You keep them open nearly with dental floss at times.

In your opinion, since you live in your respective regions and are stakeholders in them, what would happen if a news outlet in one of your regions disappeared?

[Cindy Simard]

As we said in our briefs, without the LINF, we're just not profitable anymore. We're in a deficit. So that says a lot.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Let me ask you quickly: If nothing is done, how long will it take for the consequences of that inaction to really be felt?

[Cindy Simard]

I think it will be faster than we think, and once we are gone, there will be no turning back. It will never come back.

There are costs, and there are probably even more costs in Mr. Ranger's case. For us, it's costing us four million dollars a year just to maintain a news service at a small station like ours. We have satellites, as Mr. Ranger does, with RNC Media. A satellite office costs $150,000 per year to maintain. We have five of them, including one in Edmundston, New Brunswick. That is where the cuts will be made first. Our satellite offices are in the small regions, such as Val-d'Or, so that's where there will be losses. That's where we're going to have to start, until the end of the road for our media.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

So let's try our luck again and repeat that urgent action is needed. Do we have to say it again and highlight it in bold? Urgent action is needed.

Thank you.

[Robert Ranger]

I have just one last thing to add to answer your question about—

[The Chair, Liberal, Lisa Hepfner]

I'm sorry, but we're out of time on that one. Perhaps you can come back to it later.

Mr. Waugh, you have the floor now for five minutes.

[Kevin Waugh, Conservative, Saskatoon South, SK]

Thank you.

Mr. Wood, thank you for coming on. I mean, 45 years in the industry.... You don't find that nowadays.

You talked about news deserts. That's interesting, because the two newspapers in Regina and Saskatoon print Friday afternoon for the Saturday edition. We don't have anything on Monday, and then we have two-day-old and three-day-old news on Tuesday and Wednesday. As for the CBC—the corporation that gets $1.4 billion a year—it shuts down at 6:30 on Friday and we don't hear from it again, TV-wise, until Monday.

You talked about the Humboldt Broncos. You talked about snowstorms. Where is the media going today? You mentioned a bit about that. However, in terms of urgency when there are wildfires, weather conditions or bus accidents, we have no local news in my province now from three o'clock Friday newspaper-wise and from seven o'clock Friday night television-wise. You are the only industry alive, right now, in a province of 1.2 million.

I want you to comment on that, please.

[Murray Wood]

Yes, it is disturbing, Mr. Waugh. Thank you for the question.

We see other stations in Saskatchewan, as well as radio, having some news presence on weekends. I want to be clear about that. As I said in my notes, there is one newscast with Saskatchewan content on television, but it comes out of Toronto. This is a real thing.

In Saskatchewan, as in many parts of Canada, the weather can come up quickly and be quite severe. People need this information. While social media is available for people to share information, radio is instantaneous, particularly if you're travelling in your car. People need to know it as it's happening. We take pride in this and view it as a responsibility, as I said, to be there for people seven days a week and 365 days a year. On Christmas Day, a lot of people are travelling, so we think it's important to have somebody live on the air doing the news. I don't know if I would say that weekends are a revenue generator for us, but it's part of our responsibility to our province.

We reach across the province. I didn't get into this in my presentation, but we have seven stations in Saskatchewan. Our two news talk stations reach almost border to border to border. We have three repeater transmitters in southern Saskatchewan to ensure that the signal reaches all the way across. Our CKOM signal out of Saskatoon reaches well into the north. When things are happening, when there is breaking news and when people need to know, they can turn to the radio and we will be there. That's an important commitment we make. It's one we have to work to live up to, but we feel we do.

[Kevin Waugh, Conservative, Saskatoon South, SK]

Trust and credibility.... That was interesting, because I think the public has lost trust in local media, and credibility, certainly, is wavering with the general public.

Can I get your thoughts on those two things?

[Murray Wood]

Survey after survey finds that, when it comes to trust in media, local media and local radio still score the highest. As I indicated, people have trouble these days, wondering what's real, what's paid for and what kind of trust there is. The trust they have in local media, thankfully, is still very strong, and it's because we are there. We have people on the air coming on and giving the information as they need it, even if it's just the forecast or about what that puff of smoke is in the sky in Regina. We can tell them what it is.

Listeners know that, in Saskatchewan, if something is going on, the radio—and our local news sites—will provide them with the information they need. That's where the trust comes in. The trust comes from being there and doing it, day in and day out.

[Kevin Waugh, Conservative, Saskatoon South, SK]

I'm going to move now to Ms. Spring.

I see no western Canada representation on your board of directors. I see that you get 2%, which is about $2 million to the administrator to administrate this Google fund of $100 million. Why is there no western representation? There is nobody on it from Saskatchewan, nobody from Alberta and nobody from B.C. I was concerned when I looked at your board of governors and saw a big vacuum.

[Sarah Spring]

The structure of our board of directors is by sector of the news industry. Every member class and everyone who receives funding every year in good standing is a member. They can elect their director to the board. We don't have regional representation. We have news sector representation. It's up to the member class to vote in someone who represents their interests.

You're right to acknowledge that it doesn't happen to have someone from those regions, but we ensure that every part of the news sector, from not-for-profit news to community radio and small publishers, is represented.

[Kevin Waugh, Conservative, Saskatoon South, SK]

That's my five minutes, Chair.

[The Chair, Liberal, Lisa Hepfner]

Thank you, sir.

Mr. Ntumba, you have the floor for five minutes.

[Bienvenu-Olivier Ntumba, Liberal, Mont-Saint-Bruno—L’Acadie, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Good morning. Thank you for being here.

I think this study is very important for the quality of media as well as for the long-term survival of the media in Canada and in all regions of the country.

My question is for you, Ms. Spring.

A number of Quebec media outlets have benefited from tax measures to support journalism in recent years. Practically speaking, how do those measures support the viability of the media you represent?

I would also like to mention that the superdeduction was introduced in the 2025 budget. Could that also be considered to prevent any government influence? I am asking because, when the media receive funding from the government, people often think that diminishes their neutrality.

[Sarah Spring]

The purpose of the Canadian Journalism Collective is not to lobby for our members. There are regional and national organizations for that, including the members who are here today. Our mandate is to distribute funds allocated under the Online News Act.

So I can't really talk about the media in Quebec or about certain subsidies and their effects. I can tell you though, as was noted earlier, that we even subsidize media that are critical of the Online News Act.

For our part, we see no impact on the independence of news producers across the country. We do not see that our funding has an impact on their independence or on their ability to report independently and with basic autonomy.

[Bienvenu-Olivier Ntumba, Liberal, Mont-Saint-Bruno—L’Acadie, QC]

Mr. Ranger, you said earlier that you have made repeated budget cuts over the past 10 years, which is not pleasant for an employer.

I'd like to come back to one point, the superdeduction the federal government recently introduced. Do you think that is a tool that can help you recover money from the equipment you purchase for your media?

[Robert Ranger]

Are you talking about the tax credit that the Government of Quebec has created?

[Bienvenu-Olivier Ntumba, Liberal, Mont-Saint-Bruno—L’Acadie, QC]

I'm talking about the superdeduction the federal government introduced. Could it be used to quickly deduct the cost of equipment purchased, in order to get some money back?

[Robert Ranger]

I would say that, in order to get money back, you have to pay taxes. And to pay taxes, you have to make a profit. So if you don't make a profit, you don't get anything back, and you keep spending.

As Ms. Simard said, these are major investments. When the federal government reclaimed broadband, we had to spend money ourselves to adapt to the digital mode and change bands. I think the federal government got $1.8 billion from that exercise, and we spent a million dollars to switch our two transmitters in our two markets.

I would say that the federal government has not put any measures in place at this time to help us, and especially to help us quickly.

During the COVID‑19 pandemic, there was an emergency fund managed by the Canadian Association of Broadcasters. It was super quick; the decision was made and the money was distributed. No one criticized that approach. Now there is an urgent need for action, as Mr. Champoux said. We're not asking for hundreds of millions of dollars. As independent broadcasters, we are asking for $1.5 million per month until the digital companies participate in the Canadian broadcasting system. So it's a fairly simple solution.

As Ms. Simard said earlier, the CBC has received $150 million from the federal government. In the past, it also covered the CBC's deficits. What we're asking for is to restore some fairness that will allow us to continue to provide local news.

People often forget the importance of diverse voices in a market. Consider the case of the Horne Smelter in Rouyn-Noranda. The CBC covered the issue with an eco-friendly lens, to put it politely. RNC Media made it a human story, because the closure could affect people, businesses and suppliers. The CBC focused solely on the environmental aspects of the issue, and we know that the issue is very complex. For our part, we reached out to hear from local people. We sought out news stories that people wanted to hear. Then people could make up their own minds. The closure of the Horne Smelter was bombshell for that market.

[Bienvenu-Olivier Ntumba, Liberal, Mont-Saint-Bruno—L’Acadie, QC]

Thank you. I understand the point very well.

By the same token—

[The Chair, Liberal, Lisa Hepfner]

Excuse me, Mr. Ntumba, but your five minutes are up.

Mr. Champoux, you have the floor for two and a half minutes.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

I want to focus on what Mr. Ranger just said. That's exactly what I was saying earlier about local journalism that covers local issues from a local perspective. In this case, the national story was covered by the national stations, and also by the local stations, from a completely different perspective that resonated much more with the local population. That illustrates the importance of local stations and media in journalistic coverage.

Mr. Chartier and Mr. Poisson, I don't want to leave you out, because I know that weeklies are still facing a lot of challenges as well. Although some assistance has been provided, specifically the Canadian journalism labour tax credit, there are still challenges. Earlier, you talked about distribution, which is still a major concern. We know there are delivery issues for a lot of weeklies.

Is there a broader solution for weeklies in Quebec or should tailor-made solutions be used, depending on the region? What are you proposing? What are you asking us to do to help weeklies, which in my opinion are as essential as radio and television?