Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez says the federal government will suspend all its advertising on Facebook and Instagram, after what he called the social media giant Meta’s “unreasonable” and “irresponsible” decision to pull Canadian news from its platforms in response to the Online News Act.
The federal government’s Online News Act, Bill C-18, passed Parliament nearly two weeks ago, and it forces digital giants like Google and Meta to pay media outlets for content that is shared, previewed or otherwise repurposed on their platforms.
Both Meta and Google have announced they will block Canadian news in response to the Act.
The Canadian Press reported in June that Meta would temporarily block news links for some Canadians on Facebook and Instagram as part of a test run, ahead of the Act passing. Meanwhile, Google has said it will block news for Canadians on its search engine when the law comes into effect in six months, once the bill’s regulatory process has been completed.
“Today we’re calling on both platforms to stay at the table, work through the regulatory process with us, and contribute their fair share and keep news on their platform,” Rodriguez said Wednesday.
Rodriguez made the announcement alongside NDP House leader Peter Julian and Bloc Quebecois heritage critic Martin Champoux.
“We’re standing here together, with my colleagues from all major parties, except one, representing two thirds of all the MPs in the House, to stand up for a free, independent, non-partisan, fact-based and thriving press,” Rodriguez said.
He said tech giants are making “huge revenue” while profiting off of Canadian news organizations, and the federal government must take a stand against these companies.
“They’re superpowers. They’re huge,” Rodriguez said. “They’re rich, powerful, lots of big lawyers. It can be intimidating.”
“But are we going to let ourselves be intimidated? We can’t,” he added. “If the government and politicians don’t stand up against that kind of bullying or intimidation, who will?”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke against Meta’s decision to block Canadian news for some users at a news conference in St-Hyacinthe, Que., Wednesday.
“That’s just bullying,” Trudeau said. “And it’s undermining our democracy at a time where we need to stand up for democracy.”
A spokesperson for Meta told CTV News in an email Wednesday that the move is ultimately a business decision by the company.
“As we have repeatedly shared, the Online News Act is flawed legislation that ignores the realities of how our platforms work, the preferences of the people who use them and the value we provide news publishers,” the spokesperson wrote. “Meta does not proactively collect links to news content to display on our platforms; instead, publishers actively choose to post on Facebook and Instagram because it benefits them to do so.”
“Unfortunately, the regulatory process is not equipped to make changes to the fundamental features of the legislation that have always been problematic, and so we plan to comply by ending news availability in Canada in the coming weeks,” the statement adds.
CTV News has also reached out to Google, but did not immediately receive a response.
Quebec Premier Francois Legault tweeted Wednesday afternoon the provincial government will also stop advertising on Facebook until Meta resumes its negotiations with the federal government.
“No company is above the law,” he tweeted in French.
Rodriguez told CTV’s Power Play last week he was “a bit surprised” by Google’s decision to block Canadian news outlets from its search engine, adding his office had been in discussions with the digital giant.
The heritage minister reiterated Wednesday that those conversations are ongoing, and he’s confident the federal government and Google will be able to reach an agreement, so there are no plans to suspend advertising with that company at this point.
Meta, he said, “took a different approach,” prompting the suspension of Government of Canada advertising.
Rodriguez said the move will not prevent MPs or members of the Liberal caucus from posting on Facebook and Instagram.
“I think it’s a conversation we could definitely have in terms of caucus,” Rodriguez said. “I’m speaking on behalf of the government. This is a government decision, then members could look at what they do, but they can also be inspired by what their government does.”
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Liberal Party told CTV News it will continue to advertise on Meta platforms. CTV News has reached out to the opposition parties for comment but has not yet heard back.
Quebec-based telecommunications companies Quebecor Inc. and Cogeco have also said they will pull their advertising from Meta platforms.
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
