(Alma) Faced with “the urgency of the situation,” the Parti Québécois is proposing a media aid plan that it describes as an “essential service.” The political party wants, among other things, to discourage advertisers from appearing on web giants.
“The State funds 100% of functions such as police officers and firefighters. There are plenty of essential functions where the State intervenes,” explained Chief Paul St-Pierre Plamondon on Thursday.
“From the moment we agree that [le journalisme] is an essential service, there is no point in the State intervening, provided there are no conditions or interference,” he added.
The PQ leader presented an aid plan to the media at the end of a two-day meeting of his caucus in Alma, Lac-Saint-Jean. Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon also underlined the importance of “preserving regional information” in the four corners of Quebec.
The Parti Québécois mentions the loss of 19 positions at the TVA branch in Saguenay, and the end of printing of Coops de l’information newspapers, of which Le Quotidien is a part. This shift results in the elimination of around a hundred positions, or approximately a third of the organization’s workforce.
The sovereignist party proposes, among other things, the creation of an emergency fund to “facilitate” the transition of business models to digital. The Parti Québécois has not yet quantified it, just like any other measure in its aid plan.
“We are not the government, so we are giving these measures in the hope that they will be taken up. It is then at the discretion of the government to quantify the fund. If this is not done, that means that during the electoral campaign in 2026 we will arrive with figures,” he clarified.
Before the holidays, Quebecor also announced that 547 employees will lose their jobs at TVA Group, which represents 31% of its current workforce. Other media outlets have also made budget cuts and job cuts in recent months.
CBC/Radio-Canada announced in December the elimination of 600 jobs and the elimination of 200 vacant positions across the country. Last June, Bell (owner of CTV and Noovo, among others) also cut 1,300 positions across Canada.
“Our objective is democracy, we do not want weakened journalism,” said Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon. The situation is “urgent” according to the PQ leader and urges the Legault government to present its temporary aid plan as quickly as possible.
Minister Mathieu Lacombe is working, in consultation with Ottawa, on a “temporary aid plan for the media”. For the moment, this aid would mainly target the written press.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
The Minister of Culture and Communications, Mathieu Lacombe
Less advertising on web giants
The Parti Québécois proposes in particular to modify the tax system to add incentives to advertising expenses made with Quebec press companies and businesses. Conversely, it would also limit the tax deductibility of advertisements purchased by companies when the expenses are not made with Quebec partners.
“It’s to give tax incentives to spend on advertising in our Quebec media,” explained the PQ leader. “The message we are sending is that we should favor Quebec companies and not give incentives of any kind when it comes to spending with GAFAM multinationals,” he added.
The PQ also proposes extending the tax credit for support of the written information press to radio and television media companies. “Our criterion is to ensure that there are enough journalists and different modes of expression,” said the PQ leader.
“Journalists and the media express themselves in various ways, there is television, the written word, electronics. Any form of contribution to our democracy in my opinion must be eligible,” he added.
Quebec already offers the tax credit for support of the written information press, which is equivalent to reimbursing 35% of the salary of employees eligible for the program (maximum $75,000 per year). The electronic media are demanding access as well.
Measures of the Parti Québécois aid plan
- Establish an official policy to end advertising spending by the government, its agencies and state corporations on web giants.
- Apply the 1994 government decree encouraging government organizations to spend 4% of their advertising budget on community media
- Release funds to support the transition in the distribution of weeklies affected by the end of Publisac.
- Submit a bill laying the foundations for a Quebec Radio Broadcasting and Telecommunications Council.
The list of media eligible for the various measures could be determined by the Professional Federation of Journalists of Quebec (FPJQ), Mr. St-Pierre Plamondon gave as an example.
“It’s a bit tricky if the State, the government itself begins to determine who is a journalist and who is not, I find that we open the door to abuses. I don’t want any political involvement in media power,” he explained.
Furthermore, the Parti Québécois “did not differentiate Radio-Canada” from its exercise. Last November, Minister Mathieu Lacombe asked Ottawa to exclude the public broadcaster from the royalties that Google will pay to Canadian media.
The Minister of Culture and Communications also believes that Radio-Canada should withdraw from the advertising market, a question that the Parti Québécois has not yet decided.
Paul St-Pierre Plamondon is also open to reducing the cost of rent for the Press Gallery offices at the National Assembly. In August, Quebecor stopped paying its rent in the André-Laurendeau building, citing a difficult financial context. Le Devoir reported in December that the company’s parliamentary correspondents will no longer have their own offices when parliamentary work resumes.