Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Members of the committee, my name is Mr. Jim Gourlay. I'm chair of the Atlantic Magazines Association, which is an affiliate of Magazines Canada. With me is Mark Jamison, who is the chief executive officer of Magazines Canada.
To the extent that this should be considered a brief to you, on behalf of the magazine industry nationally, Magazines Canada is a national non-profit association, representing Canadian consumer magazines all across Canada. About 90% of Canadian magazines have paid circulation in both official languages. Member magazines span a wide range of topics, including business, news, politics, sports, arts and culture, leisure, lifestyles, and the environment, among others.
In our brief you will have read several recommendations for the Canadian magazine industry. However, this afternoon we would like to focus our comments on an urgent situation we are facing with respect to the publications assistance program, PAP, as it is known.
The consumer magazine industry is bracing for a major change that will have a dramatic impact on how magazine distribution and the access Canadians have to Canadian content magazines proceeds in the future. The issue is this: Canada Post has announced its intention to withdraw its $15-million financial contribution to the publication assistance program within the next five months, I believe.
The price tag of this decision is a $15-million gap that will cause an immediate 31% increase in postage costs for the average magazine. This comes on the heels of staggering year-after-year postage rate hikes and means that distribution costs will soar even higher. The situation will simply not be viable for many publishers. I will tell you that postal costs have increased about 100%. They have doubled in the last eight years, and we're looking at 31% on top of that.
The effects of Canada Post's decision are many. It could mean cutting back on the amount of editorial and Canadian content pages that can be produced. It could mean fewer jobs and assignments for Canada's writers, creators, illustrators, and photographers. The fact that some magazines will not survive could mean that there will be fewer Canadian magazines in the marketplace and less choice for readers.
This will also drastically alter the way magazines are delivered to Canadians, because Canada Post may no longer be an affordable option. The industry is forced into considering alternative delivery methods, and this could mean prohibitive distribution costs, especially in rural areas like Atlantic Canada, to the extent that Canadians living outside major urban centres will not have the same access as other Canadians to affordable Canadian magazines.
Canada Post's withdrawal from PAP effectively puts an end to a century-long distribution partnership and to a highly successful subscription-based delivery model that has evolved because of federal government magazine policy.
What we are asking you today is that the finance committee recommend that Canada Post's financial contribution to the publications assistance program be maintained, until a proper review and evaluation of Canada's magazine policy. In our view, Canada's highly successful magazine policy should first be reviewed and evaluated before such crippling cuts are allowed, with five months' notice.
Carving out space for a Canadian voice has always been a challenge in this country, for two reasons: first, the country's geography, with a relatively small population spread across a huge land mass, makes magazine distribution more difficult and more costly than in many other countries; and second, culturally competing with the enormous size and influence of the United States entertainment industry is daunting.
Indiscriminate cuts do not take into consideration how to best serve Canadian readers. Canada's magazine policy needs to consider how we can best ensure that rural Canadians and others are able to access Canadian information, perspectives, and stories at affordable rates. It needs to consider the importance of Canada's smart jobs--our writers, designers, editors, and illustrators. It needs to take into account the health of Canadian culture and all the small to medium-sized businesses that publish more than two-thirds of our diverse and rich collection of magazines.