Madam Speaker, last May 29, I asked the Prime Minister two questions, why did the federal government stand by and allow Hollinger Incorporated to acquire over 60 per cent of all Canadian newspapers, and what further threats to democracy and freedom will there have to be before the government takes action to ensure competition, freedom of speech and the public's right to know in face of this concentration of ownership in the Canadian newspaper industry.
The reply stated that competition law deals with economic impact only. The fact that the Hollinger takeovers have had an economic impact on small independent newspapers in Saskatchewan was ignored. These papers have complained that Hollinger has threatened to drive them out of business if they choose to work co-operatively to advertise. This complaint was not addressed.
The Minister of Industry ignored the fact that Hollinger Incorporated fired 182 people two days after taking over the Regina Leader-Post and the Saskatoon Star Phoenix . These papers were making a healthy profit but according to Conrad Black they were not making enough profit.
Hollinger Incorporated now controls all daily newspapers in Saskatchewan. When one person controls 60 per cent of the papers in Canada and 100 per cent of daily newspapers in a province, competition is diminished if not completely eliminated. It is certainly eliminated in provinces like Saskatchewan and Newfoundland where Conrad Black's Hollinger owns all daily newspapers.
In 1981 the Liberal sponsored Kent commission made a recommendation that no more than 20 per cent of Canadian circulation should be owned by one individual or corporation to allow for competition in the newspaper industry. The Liberals are now ignoring these recommendations.
The Bureau of Competition Policy has formally stated that it will not deal with these takeovers. Yet the bureau admitted that corporate concentration in the media has an effect on the newspaper quality, interference in editorial views and a significant decrease in editorial diversity across Canada. The bureau was quoted as saying: "Although these are valid social concerns, it would not be appropriate for the director to comment on editorial diversity and newspaper quality".
The government is using this as an excuse not to do anything on this issue. This is a cop out and a flip-flop of the Liberal's position from their days in opposition.
Concentration of ownership in the media must be dealt with immediately. In the past month three Hollinger newspaper editors have quit. All three have cited significant differences with their new employer Conrad Black as the reason for their departure.
This is unprecedented but not surprising. Mr. David Radler, president of Hollinger, has said that Hollinger papers will not even bother reporting fairly on issues. He stated that he will not report on issues raised by New Democrats, who stand up for working and middle class Canadians, or any other organization that believes in the importance of social programs, fairness, community or co-operation.
Conrad Black's extreme political views are well known. He is quoted as saying that the Tory defeat in 1993 was because they were too socialist, if we can believe that. None of the three newspaper editors who quit could be described as socialists but they were enough out of step with the narrow, big business agenda of Conrad Black that they were forced out of their positions.
The Prime Minister appeared agitated and very uncomfortable when I asked him questions concerning Conrad Black's buying binge. I wondered why. Two days after I raised this concern of concentration of ownership in the newspaper business, the Prime Minister spent three days partying, golfing, riding horses with
Conrad Black at an estate north of Toronto owned by the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. Of course the weekend was off limits to the media, but the fact is that Conrad Black is an influential friend of the Prime Minister and a financial contributor to the Liberal Party. He gave $13,000 to the Liberals and $11,000 to the Reform Party in 1995.
Canadians are asking that the Liberal government do the right thing and establish an inquiry on the recent acquisitions by Conrad Black's Hollinger to ensure that Canadians receive balanced reporting in their newspapers.