What we've seen, of course, is the slow disappearance of the traditional media under the influence of online media.
It was said that in our last provincial elections in Quebec, 70% or even 80% of the advertising budget of the political parties went to service providers based outside of the country.
We're seeing closures of newspapers, and the media have difficulty keeping on giving us current news. We're now being presented with the idea that because the media are having some difficulty, because they're closing down, they should be receiving government subsidies to help them. We have people not buying newspapers or lacking access to traditional media, while the advertising revenue is going to outside companies that are not paying taxes here. The government is losing its tax base with that process and moreover is being asked to fund these newspapers and media because they need help to survive. Guess who's laughing all the way to the bank.
I think the idea of a right to remuneration for the use of newspaper articles is a way to address this kind of problem. It may not be technically the best way to do it, I'm sure, but I think there are ways to ensure that media, who have to pay journalists and want to get investigative journalism done in the country for our public good, are able to recoup the money and make sure that theirs is a real, living business, not one that is disappearing, such that people are being fed only by the lines they're getting on their phones.