Canadian Heritage committee  In 30 seconds, I won't be able to get an answer to a question, so I'll just say thank you again to everyone for being here on this important legislation. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Canadian Heritage committee  Thank you, Madam Chair. I'll direct all my questions through you. I want to thank the witnesses for being here in person and online. I'll start with Ms. Saras-Voutsinas, the executive director of the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada. In my riding, our local newspapers did not stop during the pandemic.

Canadian Heritage committee  Ultimately, what we're looking for is fair negotiations. I wanted to refer to those small players and the collective bargaining framework that's in the bill. We heard testimony from one of the witnesses who said that smaller players “just don't have the bargaining power. They don't have the time, and they don't have the energy.

Canadian Heritage committee  You mentioned News Media Canada. The committee previously heard from News Media Canada—the trade association that represents a large number of small players across the country—that they are going to form a collective bargaining unit in which each member provides editorial expenses confidentially to a law firm.

Canadian Heritage committee  Thank you, Madam Speaker. I'm going to yield my time to Ms. Hepfner.

Canadian Heritage committee  Thank you. Here in Ontario, we had municipal elections last week. It was a clear example of how important local journalism is. Leading up to the election, our community turned to our journalists for the information on local candidates, important issues and election results. Canadians want to see our local stories told.

Canadian Heritage committee  I appreciate that. Maybe I'll take the flip side of that. When you testified in the States, you talked about, if this legislation didn't happen, the resulting underemployment in journalism, which could cause less accountable local governments, a greater spread of partisanship, a greater spread of misinformation, a hurting of the local economies and even a reduction in the diversity of viewpoints.

Canadian Heritage committee  Thank you, Madam Chair. I'm going to address all the questions through you. I thank the witnesses for being here. I appreciate it, whether it's in person or online. I'll start with Mr. Singer. The last round of questions addressed the fact that they believe you don't understand this legislation.

Canadian Heritage committee  Thank you, Madam Chair and Mr. Champoux. I appreciate the minister, Mr. Owen Ripley and Ms. Mondou being here. Through you, Madam Chair, I'll direct my questions to the minister. We're not alone in working on this legislation for fair compensation from these digital platforms to support the free, independent and thriving press that we want.

Canadian Heritage committee  Thank you for that. You mentioned the importance of supporting local community media. You also mentioned that a broad range of supports exist to make sure that our local stories are told and heard. Yesterday you announced the rollout of budget 2022 funding. Specifically, you were launching the special measures for journalism, which started during the pandemic.

Canadian Heritage committee  Okay. Thank you. I'm not sure that today's testimony has instilled that confidence, but I would like to give the rest of my time to Mr. Housefather.

Canadian Heritage committee  Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you to the witnesses for being here. Ms. Skinner, I'd like to get your thoughts about the appropriateness of the government stopping federal funding to Hockey Canada, and also your thoughts on corporate sponsors pulling their funding. What message did that send to you?

Canadian Heritage committee  I want to say for the record, then, that this funding was pulled before the story came out about the newly revealed participants legacy trust fund, which Hockey Canada never mentioned. That's something that didn't come up in previous testimony. Do you see that perception of that loss of confidence?

Canadian Heritage committee  You mentioned our children. That's primarily why we're here. We're looking out for our children in our communities. It's apparent from the testimony, and from previous testimony, that the perception is that we as a committee, journalists, the Canadian public, we all have to pull this information out in an extraordinary way.

Canadian Heritage committee  That's also good to hear. Maybe I could turn to you now, Mr. Deegan. Bill C-18 is just one of the tools in the government's tool box that we're trying to support journalism with. Can you speak to other programs that the government has introduced that would benefit this sector—perhaps the periodical fund or the local journalism initiative?