$6 billion government bailout for oligopolies that lay off staff and take bonuses | Catherine Swift

Heritage Minister Marc Miller floated up to $6 billion in expanded journalism labour tax credits following the April 28 economic update that would extend benefits to the news divisions of Bell, Rogers, and Corus. Bell made $10.6 billion in profit last year. Rogers is seeking to sever 10,000 workers while reporting $4.9 billion in Q1 revenue. Corus stock is three cents. Catherine Swift, former President and CEO of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, joined Jim and Iain to explain why this is indefensible.

Topics covered:
► Heritage Minister Marc Miller floating up to $6 billion in expanded journalism labour tax credits to extend to Bell, Rogers, and Corus news divisions following an April 28 economic update, with Michael Geist of the University of Ottawa questioning why these companies need more government money when they are already receiving significant payments from Google under the Online News Act

► The oligopoly problem Swift identifies: Bell, Rogers, and Telus control most of Canadian telecommunications because government laws prevent foreign competitors from entering Canada, they charge usurious rates, make enormous profits, and are now asking for $6 billion more in tax credits while laying off thousands of employees and paying executive bonuses

► The innovation suppression argument from former CRTC vice-chair Peter Menzies: government welfare stops media from innovating because companies that receive government payments lose the incentive to figure out what audiences actually want, they are blocking the video stores of journalism, and the subsidy just prolongs the agony before the inevitable collapse

► Corus Entertainment as the case study: stock at three cents after a court-approved debt restructuring, 25% of staff laid off while executive bonuses were paid, the company cannot survive without government funding, and its Global News coverage reflects the interests of the institution keeping it alive

► The CRTC relevance problem: created to regulate television and radio in an era when those were the dominant media, now attempting to regulate the internet which was never its mandate, with CBC at 1.67% audience share on television and radio stations closing across the country

► The Canadian content paradox Swift describes: regulations so convoluted that a show with 90% Canadian producers, directors, and actors can still fail to qualify as Canadian content, while actual Canadian content creators on YouTube have their content throttled, and the $6 billion flows to Bell and Rogers

► The Liberal poodle pattern Swift and Jim identify: CTV, CBC, and Global have all been caught not just spinning but lying, with the deceptively edited Poilievre tape, the Kamloops headline stated as unverified fact, and the Russian convoy money claim all resulting in no firings, because the institutions are financially dependent on the government they are supposed to scrutinise

► The Snowbirds comparison: the government cannot afford to keep the Snowbirds flying but is proposing $6 billion for the most profitable telecommunications companies in Canada, in a recession, while 25.5% of Canadians are food insecure

How does a government that claims to support a free press propose $6 billion for companies that lay off journalists while executives take bonuses?

Let us know what you think in the comments.

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