Repeal The Online News Act

Repeal The Online News Act

The federal government has finally shown a willingness to undo some of the most misguided policies of the Trudeau era.

Take the Digital Services Tax (DST) for example.

Introduced under the previous Liberal government, it was supposed to target large foreign tech companies. 

But earlier this week, just before it was set to come into effect, it was scrapped at the last minute to avoid a trade disaster with the United States.

It was a clear acknowledgment that the policy was not only poorly designed but actively harmful to Canada’s broader economic interests.

Now, the government should apply that same logic to another deeply flawed Trudeau-era policy: the Online News Act (Bill C-18).

The Online News Act was sold to Canadians as a way to “help journalism.”

Instead, it has caused chaos, confusion, and real harm to the very media landscape it claimed to support.

When this legislation came into force, major platforms like Facebook and Instagram blocked access to Canadian news in order to avoid being forced into unfair and arbitrary payment deals.

Millions of Canadians suddenly lost access to the news they rely on - and many never got it back.

That’s not protecting journalism - that’s strangling it.

Local and independent news outlets across Canada have seen their traffic plummet, their advertising revenues dry up, and their ability to reach audiences disappear.

Far from “levelling the playing field,” this law handed even more power to a small group of legacy media conglomerates and government-subsidized broadcasters, while leaving innovative, upstart, and non-traditional voices out in the cold.

This isn’t about helping the little guy. It’s about propping up a broken system using government force.

The Digital Services Tax, much like the Online News Act, was intended to extract revenue from large foreign tech firms but ended up threatening international trade talks and harming Canadian interests. 

Carney admitted what many already knew: the law was unworkable and made the situation worse.

The Online News Act is no different.

It’s time for the federal government to show the same clarity and leadership by repealing the Online News Act before more damage is done.

We don’t need more bureaucratic interference in how Canadians find and share information online. 

We need less. 

The federal government should be removing barriers, not creating new ones.

A truly free press doesn’t need a government-mandated subsidy scheme. 

It needs space to operate independently, to innovate, and to earn trust from readers - not handouts from Ottawa.

If politicians are serious about protecting journalism, they should focus on cutting red tape, ending government favouritism, and getting out of the way so that a diversity of voices can thrive in a competitive, open, and transparent media environment.

Canadians deserve access to the news - without government censorship, backroom deals, or political strings attached.

We’re calling on the federal government to immediately Repeal The Online News Act.

If you agree, please sign the petition!