The CRTC’s full five year exemption is a strong endorsement of the CJC-CCJ

For Immediate Release—The Canadian Journalism Collective (CJC-CCJ) applauds the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)’s decision to issue a full five-year exemption to Google from the Online News Act. This decision enables the CJC-CCJ to distribute $500 million over five years to promote innovation and sustainability in the Canadian news ecosystem.

“The CJC has worked hard to ensure that all news media, including big and small, benefit from the Online News Act fairly,” says Jean La Rose, spokesperson for the CJC. “The CRTC’s decision is a strong endorsement of the vision the CJC has for the future of news for Canada.”

During the consultation, the CJC-CCJ argued for an approach to distribution that featured representative governance from diverse newsrooms and business models, a high level of transparency and pathways for news startups to benefit from Google’s funding.

“The CRTC’s decision is not only an important step forward for Canadian media, but also globally,” says La Rose. “Jurisdictions around the world are watching Canada. We can now offer a model that ensures Big Tech compensates news media for their content equitably and fairly across the entire news media ecosystem.”

The CJC-CCJ is now finalizing its processes and anticipates distributing its first funding in early  2025.

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