The Independent Press Gallery is calling for the cancellation of the federal Local Journalism Initiative after newly tabled parliamentary records revealed funds intended for underserved communities were awarded to major legacy media outlets in Canada’s largest markets.
Records released in response to Order Paper Question Q-938 show funding flowed to outlets including the Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail, Winnipeg Free Press, Winnipeg Sun, The Hamilton Spectator, and others.
The program was introduced in 2019 to support civic reporting in communities lacking local news coverage. The disclosed payouts instead show taxpayer money going to established outlets in major urban markets.
Independent media organizations receive none of these subsidies and explicitly reject them, while competing against organizations backed by public funds, institutional advantages, and preferred access.
The Local Journalism Initiative has failed to meet its stated purpose of prioritizing underserved communities and has become another mechanism to support incumbent legacy media organizations.
The Independent Press Gallery is calling for the immediate cancellation of the program, full public disclosure of all recipients and payments, and equal access standards for all legitimate journalists regardless of business model or editorial viewpoint.
Public funds should not be used to distort competition in journalism or reward politically connected incumbents while independent outlets are excluded from equal treatment.
Sheila Gunn Reid
President, Independent Press Gallery
www.IndependentPressGallery.com