We would all agree that it's critical. This has been one of the core pieces eroding the health of our democracies.
We see this particularly during municipal elections. In municipal elections, especially if you don't happen to be in one of the major cities with a major paper covering it, it can be very challenging to find accurate information about the candidates and issues that are being discovered and discussed in those meetings. We hear that this is the major reason people don't participate. They don't feel as though they can make a well-informed choice, especially new Canadians and young people who don't already have a clear political ideology that they can line up with and look to.
It's critical to invest in the health of our local democracy, local journalism.