Broadcasting - Secretary General Letter addressed to Sarah Miller (Jensen Shawa Solomon Duguid Hawkes LLP)
Gatineau, 19 December 2025
Reference: 2025-0452-1
BY EMAIL
Sarah Miller
Jensen Shawa Solomon Duguid Hawkes LLP
Suite 800 – Lancaster Building – 304 - 8 Avenue SW
Calgary, Alberta T2P 1C2
millers@jssbarristers.ca
Subject: Application to designate Rebel News as an eligible news business under the Online News Act (application 2025-0452-1)
Dear Sarah Miller,
Thank you for your application dated 5 August 2025, filed on behalf of Rebel News Network Ltd. (Rebel News), to be designated as an eligible news business under the Online News Act (the Act).
As you know, under the Act, the Commission is responsible for implementing and overseeing the bargaining framework to support fair negotiations between news businesses and the largest online platforms. Factors that determine whether the Act applies to a platform are set out in the government’s Online News Act Application and Exemption Regulations (the Regulations). Google Search, operated by Google LLC (Google), is the only regulated platform at this time.
In April 2024, Google held an open call for news businesses that were interested in receiving compensation under the Act. In June 2024, Google entered into a funding agreement (the Agreement) with the Canadian Journalism Collective (CJC) and filed an exemption application with the Commission. As required by the Act, the Commission held a public proceeding to gather input on the Agreement. Based on the public record, the Commission exempted Google from participating in mandatory bargaining for a period of five years in Exemption Order from the Online News Act granted to Google, Online News Decision CRTC 2024-262, 28 October 2024 (Google Exemption Order). In light of the exemption, there is no mandatory bargaining taking place for the Commission to oversee.
Under the Regulations, the Agreement, and the Google Exemption Order, the CJC is responsible for the equitable distribution of the annual funding received from Google. The CJC has a mechanism to annually admit news businesses that did not participate in Google’s open call.
The CJC is an independent body that operates separately from the Commission. The Commission does not have the authority to participate in the CJC’s funding determinations or to override them.
The Commission encourages you to reach out to the CJC with any questions relating to its administration of the funds received from Google.
If you have any other questions, please do not hesitate to contact Daniel Pye, Acting Director General, Broadcasting Policy, at Daniel.Pye@crtc.gc.ca or 613-614-5926.
Sincerely,
Marc Morin
Secretary General and Executive Vice-President
c.c.:
Daniel Pye, Acting Director General, Broadcasting Policy, CRTC, Daniel.Pye@crtc.gc.ca
Sarah Spring, Executive Director, Canadian Journalism Collective, Sarah.Spring@cjc.ccj.ca
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