Whereas the Public Policy Forum declares on its website for the 2017 report The Shattered Mirror:
News, Democracy and Trust in the Digital Age (commissioned by the federal government) that “real news is in crisis” in this country; and,
Whereas the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) cited eight “critical information needs” the media help to provide including emergencies; other public risks to health; education; the environment; economic opportunities; civic and political knowledge of policy initiatives; and the conduct of public officials, and candidates for office (The Shattered Mirror, p. 4); and,
Whereas Canadians have lost the essential services provided by roughly 2,000 media workers in 100 communities across Canada due to layoffs in only six weeks from the time the COVID-19 pandemic began – a time it became clearer to the public how important it is for Canadians to receive accurate information – and advertising revenues have plunged, prompting an emergency $30-million advertising-buy by the federal government; and,
Whereas residents of 190 Canadian communities lost 250 established news outlets due to closings on mergers between 2008 and 2018; and,
Whereas two thirds of Canadians agree or somewhat agree that because of the Coronavirus/Covid-19 outbreak, the federal government should treat widespread media bankruptcies and lay-offs as an emergency, according to Nanos Research poll of April, 2020; and,
Whereas the federal government allocated nearly $600-million in aid for Canadian media over five years in its 2019 budget, including a 25 percent tax credit for newsroom salaries, a 15 percent tax credit for digital media subscribers, and charitable tax status for non-profit news outlets; and,
Whereas Canada’s federal government acknowledged in its 2019 budget that “a strong and independent news media is crucial to a well-functioning democracy”; and,
Whereas at least seven municipal Councils in Ontario have already passed resolutions similar to the one proposed below; and,
Whereas the news media in Windsor, Ontario have been instrumental during the Covid-19 pandemic, ensuring local citizens have accurate local information;
Therefore be it resolved that the City of Windsor Council RECOGNIZES that a healthy, professional news media is essential to the proper functioning of democracy in Windsor; URGES nearby municipal councils and across Canada to recognize that a robust news media is essential to the proper functioning of democracy in their jurisdictions; ENDORSES legislation and regulations to support and rejuvenate news outlets across Canada; and URGES the federal government to move quickly to pass legislation to ensure an ecosystem for a healthy news media to serve all Canadians; and further,