Ottawa poised to help newspapers in coming federal budget
OTTAWA — The federal government is signalling that the country’s newspaper industry is set to get financial help, with the minister in charge of the file vowing of measures in this year’s budget and officials ready to meet with publishers to talk details.
The exact value and details of the financing will be laid out in the budget that has been delivered in late March each of the past two years.
Expectations are high that the Liberals will allocate more money and change the rules around the Canada Periodical Fund to provide funding beyond print magazines, non-daily newspapers and digital periodicals as the industry looks for a viable business model in the digital age.
Heritage Minister Melanie Joly discussed the matter during a meeting Thursday with representatives of the Federation nationale des communications, a Quebec union that represents 6,000 people who work in culture and communications.