Those are great questions.
First of all, let me deal with transit. There are mass layoffs announced in some of the major cities in Canada as a result of COVID-19. As a result of COVID-19, the buses are not fully utilized, obviously, because of social distancing, revenue has dropped dramatically and, in many circumstances, no fares at all are being collected.
What bus drivers are saying, if you can imagine, is that they are driving by bus stops at which there are essential workers who are frequently wearing personal protective equipment and hospital garb.
The simple reality is that the number of riders has dropped, the revenue has dropped significantly and now they've announced layoffs.
You can't say on the one hand that we need essential workers—and transit workers are essential—and then announce major, major layoffs, including right here in the city of Toronto. We can't say they're essential workers and then they get laid off.
The other side of the argument, Peter, is that 75% of all PSWs—all the workers who work in long-term care facilities—take public transit. About 75% to 80% of workers in grocery stores take public transit. At a time when we most need public transit, there are going to be massive layoffs, so the government clearly, clearly needs to step up.
For a perfect example, the transit industry is not eligible for wage subsidies. In fact, if the transit system would at least be eligible for the wage subsidy, that would go a long way in offsetting some of the significant costs.
Phillip laid out the whole issue with the media. Simply put, about 250 local newspapers have closed in the last 10 years. Just in the last few weeks, the National Post announced some major closures in Manitoba. The issue is clearly Google and Facebook. They have had a free ride for years.
Phillip is right. Australia got tough, France got tough and the U.K. is getting tough. Other countries around the world are saying, okay, enough of this. It's got to the point, frankly, where Google and Facebook will steal the information that is paid for and written by The Globe and Mail, The Star or the National Post. They take what is written by other newspapers—conventional media—and they post it but don't pay anything for it. If Google and Facebook lived by the same rules as Phillip Crawley and The Globe and Mail, we'd have a different situation.
They don't pay taxes. They get a complete free ride. There has to be something wrong with the system when we know there's going to be a wholesale wiping out of the industry if we don't do something. You can't have a thriving democracy, which we're very proud of here in Canada, if you don't have a strong media. There's a lot that has to be done.