Canadian Heritage Committee on April 16th, 2026

[Peter Menzies]

Well, the industry is no longer independent. It's largely dependent on government subsidies at the moment. In Quebec, it's almost 100% of newsrooms, between provincial and federal subsidies. The image of independence is gone. What once was sacred, as I tried to put it recently, this detachment between media and government.... That relationship should never be cozy. It should never even have the appearance of being cozy. If you're going to have a default, to steal a phrase from somebody else, it should always be bad in terms of that. It can be cordial, but it shouldn't be cozy. That has sort of ended the image of independence.

That's not to insult any journalists. They may be pure as the driven snow, but the public doesn't see them as independent anymore. Once you've lost that connection with the public, then really that era has ended, and we're now in a new era. It's an interesting new world, and if we continue down the path that we're on, as I tried to point out with the demands for this subsidy, the strengthening of this bond between journalism and government is only going to grow stronger. As it grows stronger, public faith in both institutions is going to decline.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

During the interview, you commented on exactly this with regard to public trust towards media. You made the statement that subsidies fuel a trust deficit and that an erosion of trust could lead to a growing group of people drifting towards unprofessional online news sources.

Do you care to expand on that?

[Peter Menzies]

There's been a fragmentation of the marketplace that is pretty obvious to most people. One difficulty with it is that you have to shop around these days. If you're inclined to the right of the spectrum, there are a number of advocacy journalism organizations, as I call them, that you can go to, where you can get your opinions reinforced. They can also produce some fresh news, but it's unlikely that you're going to go there.

It's the same on the left of the spectrum. There are dozens of them. You're not going to go there and say, “Gosh, I never thought of things that way before,” or, “Gee, I didn't know that,” or, “That MP that I thought I hated, maybe she's not so bad. Maybe she's not a crazy lady.”

There's nothing that disrupts the flow of your predetermined thinking unless you shop around. That's dangerous, because you start to get a very segmented society, and people start to view people with opposing views as a danger and a threat, so all of a sudden those opinions have to be managed. Once you get one government thinking that they need to manage these opinions they find objectionable, another government's going to come along and manage the other side. I think it's a very dangerous road that we're walking down right now.

[Rachael Thomas, Conservative, Lethbridge, AB]

One observation that I would make, and data seems to back this up, is that, as the media becomes more partial in the sense of either taking the left side of the political spectrum or the right side of the political spectrum and then amplifying that view without consideration of what might be in the middle or even just telling a story without any sort of angling to it, because we see less and less of that, to your point.... As all that happens, trust is eroding. People don't know when they're being told the factual truth and when there's storytelling involved from a particular angle or trying to make a particular point. How do we overcome that in our system?

[Peter Menzies]

I think journalism itself is at fault for that quite a bit. The abandonment in many newsrooms of the idea of objectivity goes to a broader conversation about social changes and that sort of stuff. That is not what people want. Journalists' first obligation needs to be to their readers, and they need to serve readers the way they want to be served. The way they want to be served is to be given all the facts and to be able to make up their own minds. You can offer some opinions elsewhere if you want, but please just serve me.

I don't think that's happening that well. I think part of that is that journalists themselves and newsrooms themselves need to recommit to some of the core values. I mean, it's never been a perfect business. It's always been a rough and tumble business, but they do need to get back to the core values of being straight shooters and being objective or aspiring to it as much as they can. We all know that it's hard, but there are all kinds of things in life that are hard.

[The Chair, Liberal, Lisa Hepfner]

That's a point well made. Thank you, sir.

I'm going to turn now to Mr. St-Pierre.

The floor is yours for five minutes.

[Eric St-Pierre, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Thank you, Madam Chair.

It's a pleasure for me to sub in for MP Royer.

I studied journalism very briefly in my early 20s. It's been a few years and, unfortunately, I transitioned to law school instead. It's nice to be here today, because I get to live my past. I briefly wanted to be a war reporter, but I digress.

I would like to thank all the witnesses for joining us.

Mr. Éric‑Pierre Champagne, can you specify one or two reforms to aim for? Could existing strengths in the field be used to fill any gaps that may exist, such as information deserts in rural areas or financial volatility? What would be your recommendations to the committee?

[Éric-Pierre Champagne]

Yes, understood.

But first, I would just like to provide some clarification on the previous witness's comment about the independence of media that receive public funds. Let's go and ask François Legault, of the Coalition Avenir Québec, whether he found that the media was treating him kindly. I don't feel that media are not independent because they receive public funds—quite the contrary.

Now, one of the requests I made a little while ago was about the tax credit for advertising costs. We are absolutely disgusted that advertisers placing ads on foreign platforms can deduct 50% of their expenses. An advertiser placing an ad in the New York Times or USA Today or in any other media cannot deduct those expenses. However, if it is on Facebook or Google—foreign platforms, remember—they can deduct those expenses. This is completely unfair for Canadian media who have to do battle with giants equipped with advertising war machines. The giants get an advantage too, simply because companies advertising on those platforms can deduct their expenses.

The FPJQ and other players in the industry have been making that request for a very long time and nothing has been done about it. I just don't understand. It would cost the government nothing. I will make the request again and I hope that we will be heard because it is something that could help. I feel that almost everyone around this table would agree. There is no reason to encourage foreign platforms that are known for spreading disinformation.

[Eric St-Pierre, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Thank you for that recommendation. It's certainly noted.

I would like to commend the journalists of La Presse and Le Devoir in Quebec. They are very strong and that is important for democracy in Quebec and Canada.

I am curious to hear your opinion on the role of influencers on social media. I am thinking of Alexplique, for example, who is playing a major role. Can you talk about the role of influencers in journalism?

[Éric-Pierre Champagne]

There's no denying the phenomenon; it's clearly a factor. You mentioned Alexplique. What she does is interesting, I find. But what people like her do is simplify, abridge. Without the work of so-called traditional media—I prefer the term “trusted media”—I have no idea how they could do what they do, which is to look at several sources and summarize them, especially for young audiences. They do good work—I am not saying otherwise—but, without the work that journalists do in other media, big and small, perhaps they would find it harder to do what they do. We commend what they are doing, but we must also remember that their kind of reporting can only happen because of a larger ecosystem.

[Eric St-Pierre, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

Thank you.

Ms. Villalba, can you talk about the health of francophone media markets in Quebec and also in francophone minority communities outside Quebec, such as Franco-Ontarians and Acadians? Are the targeted support measures achieving the desired results?

[Samuel Lamoureux]

What do you mean by “health”? Do you mean economic health?

[Eric St-Pierre, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

I mean economic health, financial health.

[Samuel Lamoureux]

Are you talking about the health of the media in rural communities?

[Eric St-Pierre, Liberal, Honoré-Mercier, QC]

I am talking about rural communities, but also the challenges faced by francophones outside Quebec. I'm thinking of New Brunswick or Ontario.

[Samuel Lamoureux]

I am doing a research project right now. I have interviewed about 25 journalists mostly working in rural areas, like Côte-Nord or Gaspésie. These are local media. I have none in New Brunswick. What I see is that regional media are barely hanging on and have very few resources. When I interview them, they tell me that once there were 20 of them. Now there are 10, but with the same amount of work, and social media content on top. Basically, there is too much work and too few employees to do it. One person is now doing the work of five, but with no better pay and fewer resources.

Facebook blocking news content in those regions is huge. In some regions, like Gaspésie and Côte-Nord, Facebook was like the town square. Everyone shared information there. When Facebook blocked the news, it was a major shock to information in some rural communities, that's for sure.

I have done research on Facebook. From an economic perspective, Facebook has replaced journalism with fake information since 2024. If you look at Facebook's accounting, you see that 10% of its revenues now comes from online scams, from fake information and advertising, from online casinos and from things that are illegal. It seems to me that this would be one major aspect of the regulations that could be imposed. What company can have a business model based on online scams? It's illegal, as least as I see it. Facebook has replaced information with fraud. It has a major impact, especially on rural communities, that's for sure.

[The Chair, Liberal, Lisa Hepfner]

Thank you.

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

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Two and a half minutes is not very long, but I will try to use the time wisely.

As I said just now, I am all for diverse voices and opinions. I want people to be able to find information wherever they want, even if they are seeking to confirm their own opinions. Having an ecosystem like that is fine, but things have to be well-defined and clear. There must be one code of ethics that applies to everyone, from one end of the spectrum to the other. It matters little whether they are in the business of providing opinions, or in rigorous journalism.

Earlier, we were talking about Alexane Drolet, or Alexplique, who is doing good work in making information accessible. She tells the young people who come to her to not trust her only but to go and shop around in the information sources, because having a variety of sources is important. Farnell Morisset also popularizes information, but that's where my question about ethics arises. When you read the subtleties between the lines, you may possibly be able to see that he leans more to one side than to the other. But now we learn that he is jumping to provincial politics for the Liberal Party. I find that adds to people's cynicism; they already have a hard time trusting their sources of information.

I would like to hear your quick opinion on it. I know that we only have two and a half minutes. Mr. Champagne and Ms. Mac Farlane, please start.

[Éric-Pierre Champagne]

The problem you have just described is not a new one. We might mention Bernard Drainville and Christine St‑Pierre. There are lots of examples.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

André Platte too.

[Éric-Pierre Champagne]

Yes, the situation exists, I agree with you. It does create a bad taste and can undermine trust. But we live in a free society where people can make their own choices. With Farnell Morisset, I would make one distinction. He was not a journalist and has never claimed to be one.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

No, but he popularizes society issues in the form of journalism. That is why I said I am for diversity just now—

[Éric-Pierre Champagne]

I understand and share your discomfort.

[Martin Champoux, Bloc, Drummond, QC]

Okay.

Go ahead, Ms. Mac Farlane.

[Stéphanie Mac Farlane, Editor-in-Chief, Le Canada Français, Fédération professionnelle des journalistes du Québec]

We were talking about ethics before. Actually, when a journalist turns to politics, we immediately withdraw their press card as our code of ethics requires.