The Carney government is funding a directory designed to help Canadians find local news they can trust, as Ottawa increasingly casts state-funded media as a defence against disinformation and threats to “social cohesion.”
According to Access to Information records obtained by Blacklock’s Reporter, the Department of Canadian Heritage is funding researchers to build a “comprehensive, regularly updated Canadian local news directory.”
“The information will help policymakers and others make more data-informed decisions about where interventions are needed and will help people struggling to find local news they can trust,” said an April 26 departmental memo.
The three-year project is being compiled by researchers at Toronto Metropolitan, Laval and Concordia universities. Canadian Heritage had spent $100,000 on the initiative at the time of the records, while the total budget was redacted.
The memo said the directory would reflect “qualified journalism organizations,” a Canada Revenue Agency designation used in determining eligibility for federal journalism tax measures.
Hellbound and Down 