The Canadian Media Guild has received a reply to a letter they sent to the Minister of Canadian Heritage last month regarding financial assistance given to TC Media through the Canada Periodical Fund. The CMG expressed concerns about the TC Media funding in light of the new contract the publisher tried to impose on freelancers earlier this year — a contract that claimed full copyright, required freelancers to waive moral rights to their work, and offered no increase in compensation in exchange for these demands.
Heritage Minister James Moore responded to the CMG’s letter with the explanation that the allocation of the Canada Periodical Fund is based entirely on sales figures. Although the fund was created in an effort to strengthen the Canadian cultural sector and provide stability to its employees, Moore’s letter states that the government is not involved in the labour issues of the publications that receive financial assistance. Moore turned down the CMG’s request for a meeting to discuss the issue further.
The Canada Periodical Fund has provided TC Media with between $7.5 and $8.5 million per year for the past three years.
Earlier this spring, the publisher told its contributors that it is making amendments to its controversial contract. A new version is expected in early summer.
