Thank you.
Good morning, Madam Chair and members of the committee. Thank you for the opportunity to appear today on behalf of the Miracle Channel Association, now using MCA Media Group to identify ourselves as we've grown. We are an independent local broadcaster based in Lethbridge, Alberta, and a proud member of the local independent television stations group, the LITS group. MCA Media produces and broadcasts high-quality, locally relevant news and programming that serves southern Alberta, including positive-content television through the Miracle Channel and our expanding digital platforms. Our remarks align with those of our LITS colleagues who have already appeared before this committee.
LITS stations like ours serve around four million Canadians, over 10% of the population, in some of the country's smallest and most underserved television markets, yet we are operating under extreme financial pressure. This is why emergency bridge funding for the independent local news fund, the ILNF, is our immediate priority. MCA Media has been hit particularly hard by recent CRTC decisions. We were executing on a plan that included funding from streamer contributions to the ILNF, obligations the commission imposed under the Online Streaming Act, Bill C-11. Over the last four years, we invested heavily, in good faith, increasing our local news and exceeding our conditions of licence. We expected that additional funding to arrive in August 2025. Instead, our allocation was cut by 43%, when the commission prematurely added Corus. Overall, MCA Media's funding from the ILNF has fallen 72% since 2017, the opposite of what was supposed to happen.
In the meantime, larger ILNF stations have generously allowed smaller operators like us to borrow funds to manage cash flow. If the appeals court does not uphold the CRTC decision to support local news for small markets, it will be devastating. Not only will small stations lose the additional funding everyone planned for; we'll also have to repay those loans. This uncertainty has left us in dire circumstances. Employees have left and we have not replaced them. We have job openings, and we want to hire more journalists, but we simply do not have the money. It's hard to remain entrepreneurial and maximize every opportunity to serve our communities when public policy works in theory but fails in practice. If a key goal of the ILNF is to support local news in underserved markets, the current situation is having the opposite effect.
We also note the ongoing failure of the Online News Act to deliver anticipated compensation from dominant platforms. LITS has formally applied to the CRTC to commence bargaining with Meta, providing unequivocal evidence that Meta's supposed news ban is a charade. This underscores the act's critical importance for independent local broadcasters.
We note the heritage minister's recent comments expressing disappointment that the CRTC is not moving faster to implement the Online Streaming Act. The reality is that we are two decades late, not just a year. This continued delay directly harms local broadcasters, which are required to meet strict Canadian content quotas, while foreign streamers capture audience and revenue with minimal obligations.
On government advertising, my colleague Rod Schween was bang on. Broadcasters are required to meet rigorous Canadian content requirements. Shouldn't the government that imposes those requirements on us match it with their own advertising spend? We also call for closing the advertising loophole that allows foreign digital platforms to siphon revenue without equivalent regulatory or content obligations.
Regarding innovation, independent local broadcasters such as MCA have invested heavily in digital transformation, new platforms and audience engagement. We meet and have long exceeded online distribution requirements while maintaining local roots and public service mandates in smaller communities.
In closing, we support greater transparency in funding programs. Broadcast programs like the ILNF already include robust reporting requirements. The survival of independent local television is not just an industry issue; it is a democratic imperative. Canadians in every region, especially in smaller markets served by stations like MCA Media, deserve reliable, locally produced news and information. We stand ready to work with this committee and the government to deliver the urgent measures needed.
Thank you. I look forward to the questions.