Killing fields; federal Bill C-18 takes aim at freedom of the press

I own Connected Media Inc., with my Husband Chad which offers timely and accurate news coverage for the rural Lakeland region of Alberta under the brand Lakeland Connect, found online at https://lakelandconnect.net .

 

In 2014, I started this company to allow for reliable and timely news that is easily accessible and, most importantly, free- something rural communities from in the Lakeland, from across Alberta and all over Canada are vastly lacking.

 

I found news coverage lacking in rural communities when I first launched Lakeland Connect, as it was only released once a week through paper, then regurgitated on other traditional medias. Many residents in our areas were grossly misinformed and/or uninformed of issues that were important to the area. Largely in part because major news outlets see rural communities as a cash grab, both through subscriptions and advertising. They rarely service their outlets and grossly under-employ the region and underpay their employees, causing poor coverage. Their owners never step foot in the communities they pull their income from and do not spend the profits locally. Further, many quality reporters used small communities as launching pads and move on to better opportunities in larger markets, causing more gaps in coverage.

 

When I launched Lakeland Connect, I did so with the commitment that I would never place barriers to news access. Committing to releasing news as it happens, not when it is more cost-effective to do so as the traditional outlets do. I would never charge for news, as I do not believe the public should have to pay to be informed. I further committed to taking the news to the people rather than expecting people to come to me as radio, TV, and newspapers do.

 

I set up a website, https://lakelandconnect.net and social media pages to compliment them @lakelandconnect on Facebook & Instagram. This allowed the public to find me easily on the platforms they were already using.

 

It also caused a change in how my competitors released their news. Over the years, I have seen the local newspaper and radio stations go online and post their news on social media. I have also seen the local paper drop its subscription fees and even mimic my company’s name.

 

The federal government’s introduction of Bill C-18 is now hindering access to news for Canadians and I am afraid the Liberal government under Trudeau’s privileged short-sighted, wannabe morals will allow for the repercussions of such a bill to place one of the largest barriers to access to information Canadians have ever seen.

 

Under the guise of helping “struggling news outlets” gain revenue, the Liberals have started a standoff with two of the largest access points for Canadians – Google & Meta. Thus impeding the public’s access to news in our country.

 

A few points I would like to address:

•Governments should not be designing policies to aid private business nor their own business interests.

•It is not the government’s role to bail out companies or to design policies for companies to gain revenue, when those companies’ own stubbornness and myopic sight prevented them from advancing with their user habits.

•This is especially true when the companies, such as the media, have a history of bonusing the top people and continuing to cut their services to the public – particularly rural communities.

•The CRTC is a government owned censorship means. An agency designed to impede free speech and artistic freedom, that gains its revenue and snuff’s out the true voices of Canadians through fines and licenses. These fines and licencing fees are designed to censor and control media and art, all under the guise of protecting Canadians.

 

 

As one of the only independent news outlets in the country, my business is already seeing the effects of Bill C-18, with our Instagram page being beta-test banned in this country. Our company uses this page for delivering the news and to deliver quality and effective advertising for small rural businesses.

 

The loss of this page and the loss of revenue is immeasurable. It is absolutely detrimental to our company and daily operations.

 

So I ask to the Liberals – which “struggling news outlets” ask for this policy? Was it the government owned CBC, or perhaps the major media company that the government has already bailed out?

 

As the owner of a small, independent and most times struggling news company I have never asked for this. Nor do I want it. I value Google and Meta and the networks they’ve created to make news and information more accessible to all – especially small rural communities.

 

This policy is short-sighted, poorly designed, lacks the human element and consumer habits and has negative residual consequences that I cannot even fathom. One of the most glaring is the censorship of news.

 

Without a means to deliver the news and my advertisers’ content to the public, I will be out of business within three months. My five employees will be unemployed and my family will be on government assistance.

 

I also must wonder why the Liberals have designed a policy that will surely kill any independent news outlets, while gaining money for their government owned companies – CRTC and CBC.