As chief content material officer, I’ve prevented editorials. I’ve my very own weblog for private opinions. The rule in our publications has at all times been, “how does knowing this really enrich our readers?”

But the latest actions of the Canadian authorities to “help” Canadian publishers has modified my view, as I requested myself the query, “why does the government hate publishers, especially tech publishers?”

C-18, a invoice to supposedly defend Canadian publishers, might in actuality be a catastrophe for a lot of small Canadian publishers. The laws has been criticized by a variety of key {industry} consultants, together with Michael Geist, who mentioned in a latest put up, “The government’s handling of the Bill C-18 motion is just an utter embarrassment.”

We’ve lengthy been conscious of the truth that the federal government both can’t or is not going to successfully defend Canadian publishers. For instance, if we had been some other {industry}, we’d have had safety from “anti-dumping” laws. For years, U.S. publishers have been in a position to “Maple-wash” by including a couple of Canadian tales to their U.S. content material after which publishing it in our market at a value that we, who needed to pay salaries and canopy the complete vary of native tales, might by no means compete with. In the digital age, the federal government has confirmed to be completely unable to take any significant motion.

To be correct, there was a program a variety of years again to assist publishers go digital, however you needed to make investments extra money than many firms had, and our agency waited years to get well the funding funds. We labored laborious, however we had been fortunate to outlive that transition. Many different publishers merely went beneath.

Strangely, when it’s different “cultural” industries like music, or movie, or TV, in some way the federal government has managed to generate some effectively deserved safety. There are Canadian content material rules for music, movie, and tv.

But publishing? When we get hit – it’s crickets.

By the way in which, we do not make this a “them or us” argument. Canadian tradition wants assist in all its varied incarnations. In reality, the music {industry} and others most likely want some larger assist, as streaming threatens the livelihood of Canada’s musicians and, whereas some savvy artists like The Weeknd could also be profitable, the lack of earnings from streaming is at risk of killing off the following generations of stars. It was our Canadian content material restrictions that allowed the emergence of Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, Gordon Lightfoot and a bunch of others.

So how do publishers, notably small area of interest publications, survive? Our firm’s founder was very astute in understanding that the Canadian authorities wouldn’t be a lot assist. He arrange a three way partnership to guard us, which endured for many years and stored nice publishing jobs in Canada.

Unfortunately, our U.S. companions discovered that the Canadian authorities doesn’t care, and walked out of that settlement, hoping that they might “Maple-wash” their present content material, understanding that we had been too small to defend ourselves with a lawsuit and understanding that the federal government wouldn’t assist a small writer.

Which makes the brand new Bill C-18 such an added assault on this {industry}. Ostensibly, it units out to guard publications from use of content material by Google or Facebook with out compensation. Some suppose it is a good concept. Others suppose it’ll simply trigger these giants to punish Canadian publishers by pulling our websites out of search outcomes. That’s tough for many people in specialty areas, the place greater than half of our site visitors comes from search.

And what has the federal government provided in return? For us – and plenty of different publishers like us – nothing. They have compelled us to take the dangers, and provided nothing in return.

Nothing? Yes, nothing.

We are excluded from any advantages of C-18. Here’s the clause that acquired sneaked into the invoice.

27 (1) At the request of a information enterprise, the Commission should, by order, designate the enterprise as eligible if it

[…]

(b) […]

(iii) produces information content material that’s not primarily targeted on a specific subject corresponding to industry-specific information, sports activities, recreation, arts, life-style or leisure.”

It all hinges on that one phrase – “not.”

So easy. So deadly for us and so many others.

What it says is, except you produce a full vary of stories, you might be excluded. No different {industry}, cultural or different, could be topic to this restriction. When the Canadian content material restrictions had been put in place, no person mentioned that you need to do people, rock, classical, and polka favourites in the identical tune otherwise you don’t qualify. Likewise, no-one mentioned that movies will need to have drama, comedy, musical numbers, and mime all in the identical movie.

Why not? Because it could be ludicrous to do this.

Yet the federal government says, “if you focus on any one area of news, you are not a publisher.”

What does this imply in actuality? Only the most important publishers will profit. Those who cowl a common scope will get all the cash. Those who’re smaller and attempt to stand out by pursuing a differentiated technique will probably be left by the wayside.

All of those publications who serve a selected Canadian viewers will probably be punished. They all depend upon search site visitors – site visitors that they get now as a result of they’re specialised, and seen as authorities. But the federal government is ready to guess their livelihood and provides nothing in return.

To put in plainly: The authorities desires us to take the dangers with their new technique, however provides us nothing in return. All ache. No achieve.

We are a know-how writer, however this additionally applies to sports activities, vogue, tradition – any publication that has carried out what any nice enterprise strategist would say is the way in which to outlive – differentiate your self with a distinct segment viewers.

So the query stays. Are our federal representatives ignorant? Do they suppose that the numerous small publications on this nation are simply an annoyance?

Or are we simply one other kind of small enterprise to which the federal government and opposition events pay lip service in elections after which ignore whereas governing?

We have gone to our MP within the driving the place we have now offered Canadian publishing jobs and the place we have now helped make jobs for Canadian journalists, writers, inventive staff, and much more, for over 40 years. We acquired a really well mannered younger one who took our cellphone name after which – silence.

We gained’t go and not using a battle. We’ve stayed related and alive in Canada by laborious work and creativity. We know we deliver worth. Study after research exhibits that Canadians need to learn Canadian tales about know-how.

But if we’re gone, and also you get that one Canadian story about a big established enterprise in a U.S. e-newsletter, ask your self this – who will inform the tales of the remainder of Canadian know-how companies and entrepreneurs?

Which brings us again to the query we requested at the beginning of this text. But possibly it’s a bit larger than simply know-how. Maybe the query is, “why does the Canadian government hate the small businesses who are so vital to the Canadian publishing industry?”

If they don’t, and we’re over-reacting or unfair, right here’s how the federal government might show us flawed:

1. If you’re going face to face with Google and are going to “poke the bear”, have a security web for these of us who is likely to be hit like this. Your personal MPs have mentioned that even the experiment in blocking Canadians had a big effect.
2. Understand that when massive publishers get the sniffles, small publishers get pneumonia. We are at all times near the sting and attempting to maintain the doorways open. We don’t have huge belongings, or entry to large credit score strains. We can’t watch for months and even years for motion.
3. Get rid of this concept that every one publishers do common information. That, for many people, could be an idiotic technique. We are sometimes area of interest, targeted on key audiences or curiosity areas. But we aren’t any much less related than some other information supply.
4. And whenever you consider Canadian tradition, however ignore us, please reply one query. Who will inform Canadian tales after we are gone?

If you might be disturbed by these issues, or some other side of this invoice – write or name your Member of Parliament. You can discover their contact data here. Don’t let Canadian publishing die.