The Canadian Journalism Collective is a federally incorporated nonprofit organization created for the purpose of distributing funds allocated under the Online News Act.

Apply to share in compensation from the Online News Act
DEADLINE NOVEMBER 1, 2024
October 1, 2024

The CJC-CCJ is pleased to announce that applications are now open for news businesses that wish to share in compensation from the Online News Act.

All news businesses seeking compensation must apply using the form linked below by November 1, 2024 – including news businesses that participated in Google’s previous open call.

News businesses that missed the previous open call conducted by Google may also apply, but their eligibility to receive funds is subject to a pending decision by the CRTC.

We invite all news businesses to review our key documents page, where you will find CJC-CCJ’s eligibility policy and FTE distribution formula, before starting the application. You can find a list of all the documents and information necessary to complete the application in our FAQ below.

For more information, contact: info@cjc-ccj.ca

CLICK HERE TO APPLY

Upcoming Webinars on How To Apply
The CJC-CCJ will be hosting two webinars to guide users through the process of submitting an application to share in compensation from the Online News Act, including application questions related to their eligibility and calculation of FTE.

Register for the October 25, 2024 Webinar 12pm ET

Canadian Journalism Collective to represent Canadian news businesses under Online News Act
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 7th, 2024

The Canadian Journalism Collective-Collectif Canadien de Journalisme (CJC-CCJ) has signed an agreement to act as the collective responsible for receiving and distributing $100 million annually from Google in support of Canadian news businesses under the Online News Act. As outlined in the final regulations of the Act, the Collective will work with all eligible news businesses that came forward during the open call process.

The CJC-CCJ commits to equitably support the full diversity of the news ecosystem, ensure marketplace fairness and encourage innovation and sustainability.

The CJC-CCJ is responsible for reviewing all news publishers that responded to the open call process, accepting all that submitted valid attestations, and then distributing funds across publishers in accordance with the distribution formula prescribed by the Online News Act regulations. The CJC-CCJ intends to establish robust governance and distribute funding as swiftly and transparently as possible.

“The Canadian Journalism Collective is committed to distributing this funding in a fair, transparent, and inclusive manner in accordance with the regulations. We look forward to working with the full diversity of the Canadian news ecosystem including traditional print and broadcast organizations and independent local news publishers including those who serve Indigenous, Black and racialized communities and Francophone communities,” said Sadia Zaman, Independent Board Director of the CJC-CCJ.

For more information, contact: info@cjc-ccj.ca

Frequently Asked Questions
UPDATED October 1, 2024

What is the CJC-CCJ?

The Canadian Journalism Collective-Collectif Canadien de Journalisme (CJC-CCJ) is a federally incorporated nonprofit organization created for the purpose of distributing funds allocated under the Online News Act. The CJC-CCJ was founded by a diverse group of news publishers and broadcasters to promote sustainability, equity and innovation in the Canadian news ecosystem.

What steps and information are required to complete the Application to share in compensation from the Online News Act?
Step 1: Determine whether your news business’s full time equivalent employee hours and freelance fees should be considered in the category of news broadcasting or news publishing. Please consult and follow the FTE Calculation and Payment Distribution policy on our documents page.

Step 2: Determine the amounts you may declare for full time equivalent employee hours and the total freelancer fees. Please consult and follow the FTE Calculation and Payment Distribution policy on our documents page.

Step 3: Prepare the following information
- The news business’s constituting documents and any amendments
- The news business’s corporate registration
- The code of ethics followed by the news business
- A list of all the publications, stations or analogous products in which your organization's content appears
- The number of employee hours spent creating news content; in 2023
- The total freelancer fees paid to create news content in 2023
- The range within which the total gross revenue of your news business and of all businesses directly or indirectly linked to it by relationships such as those of subsidiary, parent or affiliate falls: under $200,000, between $200,000 and $1 million, between $1 million and $6 million, or over $6 million in 2023.
- The relevant member class for your news business’s membership in CJC-CCJ

Step 4: Select the category under which your news business can be considered eligible to receive funds and provide the following information:

Qualified Canadian Journalism Organization (QCJO)
- a copy of the CRA letter confirming the designation of your news business as a QCJO

Campus, community or native station licensed by the CRTC
- a copy of the license issued by the CRTC under paragraph 9(1)(b) of the Broadcasting Act

Broadcaster with a similar community mandate to that of campus, community or native stations licensed by the CRTC
- a copy of the by-laws that are currently in force and that govern the news business

Operator of an Indigenous news outlet
- if privately owned: a completed copy of the Affirmation of Indigenous Identity Form that has been signed by each of the news business's Indigenous owners
- if a nonprofit corporation: a completed copy of the Affirmation of Indigenous Identity Form for each of the Indigenous individuals who sit on the board of directors of your news business
- a completed copy of the Affirmation of Indigenous Identity Form for each of the Indigenous individuals in key operation and management roles in the news outlet

Producer of news content of public interest
- the number of journalists employed in your organization in 2023
- a copy of the journalistic code your news business follows

Subject of a CRTC order designating the news business as eligible
- a copy of the order issued pursuant to s. 27(1) of the Act designating your news business as eligible

Step 5: Complete and submit the form.

When will news businesses receive funding from the CJC-CCJ?

Google’s first payment of $100 million to the CJC-CCJ is contingent on the company formally receiving an exemption to the Online News Ac, a decision that will be made by the CRTC. The CRTC public consultation on the matter has concluded, and the CJC-CCJ is now awaiting a decision from the Commission. We thank the 87 organizations and individuals who participated. Their feedback has been an essential input to our work to establish the Collective.

The CJC-CCJ anticipates distributing funding to eligible news businesses approximately 60 days after the CRTC issues Google an exemption to the Online News Act.

When I calculate the total number of employee hours spent creating original news content, does this include hours worked by employees whose salaries are funded by the LJI program?

Yes. Please include the total number of all employee hours spent creating original news content, regardless of the source of funding for their position.

My news business has lost or cannot access to the CRA letter confirming its designation as a QCJO, how can I verify my QCJO status?

Please contact the CRA and request a new copy of the letter.

Will CJC-CCJ protect the privacy of data provided by news businesses?

The CJC-CCJ acknowledges that data collected and stored may include proprietary business information and/or private personal data. The CJC-CCJ is committed to confidentiality. Proprietary data collected about news businesses will only be used for the purposes of distributing funds under the Online News Act, and not shared with third parties.
The CJC-CCJ is subject to transparency and reporting requirements under our agreement with Google and in accordance with the Online News Act and regulations. Transparency is critical to ensuring news businesses and the public have confidence in the integrity of its distribution process.
In order to fulfill transparency measures required by the CJC-CCJ, news businesses must agree that the following information may be made public:

- The name of all news businesses that the CJC-CCJ determines are entitled to receive a share of the compensation;
- The amounts that the CJC-CCJ pays to each news business;
- Aggregate FTE counts per industry segment.

We welcome feedback on transparency by email at info@cjc-ccj.ca.

What are the next steps for the CJC-CCJ?

While waiting for the CRTC to complete its review, the CJC-CCJ has begun its work to establish the infrastructure and governance required to distribute funding as swiftly and transparently, in accordance with the regulations.

We will also soon publicly post for the role of Executive Director of the CJC-CCJ. The Executive Director will run the day-to-day operations of the not-for-profit and rapidly scale the infrastructure required to distribute the Google funding. The CJC-CCJ is committed to running a transparent and rigorous recruitment process for this important role. We expect the Executive Director will start shortly after the CRTC grants its exemption.

Please see the updated timeline on our documents page.

Will representatives from sectors of the news ecosystem not currently represented on the steering committee be included in the full governance board?

Yes. As outlined in the final regulations of the Online News Act, the Collective will work with all eligible news businesses that came forward during the open call process. The CJC-CCJ will invite both traditional print and broadcast organizations and independent local newsrooms to participate in the full governance structure, in accordance with the Act. Find the details of our governance structure here.

Section 11 of the Act requires that the CJC-CCJ “involve a range of news outlets … that reflect a diversity of business models … [and] contribute to the sustainability of the Canadian news marketplace.” The Act specifically mentions a range of news outlets in both the non-profit and for-profit sectors, those that provide services to all markets and diverse populations (including local and regional markets in every province and territory), Anglophone and Francophone communities, Black and other racialized communities and Indigenous news outlets.

Will the CJC-CCJ be transparent in its operations and decision-making?

The CJC-CCJ is committed to a high bar of transparency. The Collective has committed to the following transparency mechanisms.

Before distributing funds to any news business, the CJC-CCJ will publish on its website its governance documents, eligibility criteria, policies regarding funding distribution, and dispute resolution mechanisms.
Within 30 days after distributing its first funding, the CJC-CCJ will publish a list of news businesses funded and the amounts paid to each, FTE count per industry segment, and administrative fees drawn by the Collective. The CJC-CCJ will update the disclosure within 30 days of the end of each quarter.

We welcome feedback on transparency by email at info@cjc-ccj.ca.

How will the CJC-CCJ interpret FTEs to inform distribution of the funds?

The CJC-CCJ is required to distribute funds as per the Online News Act and regulations. Please review the FTE Calculation and Payment Distribution Policy found on our documents page.

How will the CJC-CCJ ensure as much funding as possible flows to news businesses?

The CJC-CCJ is committed to administering funds efficiently while ensuring sufficient infrastructure is in place to administer funds effectively, transparently and fairly. We anticipate that the maximum amount required for administration fees will be 2%. The CJC-CCJ will report administrative fees in a disclosure published on its website. (See transparency question above.)

Will news businesses that missed the open call for attestations from Google be able to access funding?

The CJC-CCJ has heard from news businesses that missed the open call. The CRTC is currently consulting on procedural requirements and the open call process with specific questions on processes for news businesses that missed the open call.

News businesses that missed the previous open call conducted by Google may apply to share in compensation, but their eligibility to receive funds is subject to a pending decision by the CRTC.

The CRTC has asked the CJC to respond to provide specifics on your governance structures, policies and procedures what was your response?

As part of its consultations the CRTC posed a number of clarifying questions to CJC, Google and the general public.  This included further information on our governance structure and the policies and procedures we are in the process of developing which we provided in a written response on July 15, 2024.  This response along with our August 6 and August 26 responses can be found on our documents page.

Will the CJC-CCJ be open to adjusting its operations in areas where stakeholders have shared feedback since it was selected by Google to distribute its Online News Act funds?

Yes. We will continue to listen to ideas and concerns that stakeholders express. Please share your thoughts with us at info@cjc-ccj.ca. We will reply through the stakeholder consultation process.

CJC-CCJ is required to carry out its work in conformity with the Online News Act and regulations and subject to any directive and instructions issued by the CRTC in its upcoming consultation on Google’s exemption application.

Has the CJC agreed to indemnify Google for all copyright-related proceedings?
Stakeholders have asked the CJC to clarify clause 31 of the CRTC consultation, which reads:

Beyond the distribution of funds, the CJC has agreed to a number of other terms, including that it, and its members, will not launch any bargaining or copyright-related proceedings against Google, and that it will indemnify Google against a wide variety of potential losses.

The CJC recommends interested parties review the contract between the CJC and Google itself, rather than rely on the CRTC summary of its terms. The contract was made public through the CRTC proceeding, and you can find it here. The relevant clause in the contract is 7h, which limits the indemnification to the Online News Act: "infringement of copyright in relation to making available news content of Members by Intermediaries in the manner permitted by the Act."

How did the CJC-CCJ come to be?

The Canadian Journalism Collective-Collectif Canadien de Journalisme (CJC-CCJ) was founded in May 2024 by a diverse group of news publishers and broadcasters to promote sustainability, equity, and innovation in the implementation of the Online News Act and regulations.

Our overriding objective is to ensure that the Act and regulations are implemented in a way that supports the full diversity of Canadian media, including traditional print and broadcast organizations, new, innovative emerging media, and independent local news media. This spirit and substance were reflected in the CJC-CCJ's proposal to Google to act as the distributor of the $100 million annually that, pursuant to the Online News Act, it is investing in strengthening the Canadian journalism ecosystem.

The CJC-CCJ was incorporated as a federal non-profit in May for the sole purpose of distributing funds in a manner that is fair, transparent, and in keeping with the spirit of the Online News Act and regulations.

A temporary interim board has been put in place. It is their job to oversee initial operations, in accordance with the Online News Act and regulations, until an Executive Director is hired and a full board is elected that is inclusive of the full diversity of Canada's news media. A detailed draft of the full board's composition can be found here.

We are proud, honoured, and excited to have been selected for this critical work. We look forward to working with all Canadian media organizations to ensure it achieves maximum positive effect in the years to come.

For more information, contact: info@cjc-ccj.ca