Quebecor’s 240 job cuts, announced on Thursday, have sparked a reaction from Quebec’s political class, which is urging the federal government to move forward with Bill C-18 to secure compensation deals with the internet giants.
• Also read: Rationalization of media staff at Quebecor
Among the reasons given to explain the fall in income, Quebecor President and CEO Pierre-Karl Péladeau blames multinationals like Netflix and Amazon Prime. Using Paul Arcand’s microphone on the waves of 98.5, he specifies that “there is a great evolution in conventional media. […] The concept of licensing has become obsolete.”
To that end, he is urging the federal government to pass Bill C-18 as soon as possible, which aims to force big web giants to negotiate compensation deals with the country’s media.
For the same reason, Canadian Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez believes the project should go ahead “given the dominance of the unregulated internet giants,” he said to a press crowd on Friday .
“Bill C-18 is a tool that should help rebalance fairness in the media market, but I don’t think it will solve all the problems […] the media has been sounding the alarm for a long time,” stressed Martin Champoux, MP for the Bloc Québécois.
“It’s always a shock to learn that jobs are being cut in the industry. […] We need to review how the federal government supports the media,” he continued.
The strong arrival of digital media, new platforms and new technologies is destabilizing the Quebec market and prompting reactions from many elected officials.
“The government of Quebec, but also the federal government, must do their part to ensure that the GAFAMs (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft) pay their dues as they consume content and make profits at the expense of the media. It has to stop,” said Joël Arseneau, Parti Québécois MP for the Îles-de-la-Madelaine.
As for Éric Duhaime, he insists on the importance of media independence in order to be as financially independent as possible from governments.