Canadian Heritage committee  Thank you so much for having me here today. A lot has been said about Bill C-18 in the media and at this committee over the past months. I want to start by acknowledging the real and often existential stakes involved for the journalism businesses on all sides of this debate. I'm

Canadian Heritage committee  I think a lot of countries are looking at it because of the nature of these global platforms. A lot of countries are in the same position we are. Domestic journalism institutions in a wide range of countries are going through some of the same market challenges in their negotiatio

Canadian Heritage committee  In the Australian model—

Canadian Heritage committee  I can come back to this. The exemption process in the Australian model was very crude and blunt and did not allow for targeted direction and oversight over how those monies were used. The exemption criteria provide for those in the Canadian model.

Canadian Heritage committee  Thank you for your questions. On the easy fix, I think that in clause 51 a sentence can just be added about how the indexing and ranking of variable news through the usual course of search engine optimization should not being considered unreasonable advantage. I think it's a bit

Canadian Heritage committee  —in the criteria that platforms could use to not be designated or exempted. That's going to be much more difficult here because there are specific criteria they have to meet, and they have to report against those criteria to the regulator. They will be adjudicated on that basis,

Canadian Heritage committee  No, not about this in particular.

Canadian Heritage committee  I'm not sure I appreciate the tone of that, frankly. My research institution at the university has received funding through the digital citizen initiative, as have hundreds of organizations across the country. If none of those organizations are capable of speaking to a bill on w

Canadian Heritage committee  I don't want to speak to Bill C-11, as it's not the topic of this discussion, but I don't think that Bill C-18 is, no.

Canadian Heritage committee  I'm sorry. I didn't hear the start. Was that directed to me?

Canadian Heritage committee  I don't think Bill C-18 is designed to, nor will it reverse the trend of how the financial model and design of platforms preference certain types of content over others. That, in and of itself, is its own dynamic that other policy mechanisms can get at, but that is not what this

Canadian Heritage committee  Absolutely, but I actually think it's beyond the bounds of this bill. The opacity, the incentive structure and the design of the algorithmic systems that determine what we see and don't see on platforms should be the subject of a public policy conversation, but I don't think it i

Canadian Heritage committee  I'm not sure I'd go so far as to say it's more appropriate. At this moment, it's more feasible legally, practically and politically. I agree with Professor Geist that there's an elegance to a fund model. I agree with a lot of things that he's argued about it. Many other academi

Canadian Heritage committee  What I'm most concerned about is that there are large amounts of money flowing from platforms to publishers in the Canadian media market under terms that are unknown to the public and unaccountable to government. In a market that is essential, in my view, for the functioning of a

Canadian Heritage committee  —can be accountable to the public via reporting, can be given to an arbitrator so that deals are distributed more equitably and more fairly, and can be provided in an aggregate way to publishers as they enter into these negotiations so everybody gets a similar, fair deal.