Listen up: journalism needs support (now)
By Paul Deegan, Oct. 28, 2025
News Media Canada’s president and CEO Paul Deegan has submitted a brief regarding Canada Post. Please read his call to action, urging the Canadian government and Canada Post to reconsider their decisions with advertising and distribution of print journalism.
News Media Canada represents 550 trusted news titles across Canada – everything from large national newspapers to two-person independent weekly community newspapers. I’m joined by Murray Elliott, one of our member publishers from Olds, Alberta.
Before I begin, let me state the obvious: Canada Post is not financially viable without significant changes. Absent a wholesale restructuring, it will continue to lose millions of taxpayer dollars a day.
Canada Post is an important national institution. Like our newspapers, its stamps help tell the story of Canada and the success stories of Canadians. By way of example, in 2021, it unveiled five stamps that celebrate five of Canada’s greatest editorial cartoonists. One was by Terry Mosher of the Montreal Gazette. Aislin, as he’s known, depicted a beaver sporting a hockey jersey with a maple leaf playing a bear whose jersey said CCCP.
I cannot stress enough how important Canada Post is as a distribution vehicle for many community newspapers across Canada, especially in rural and remote parts of the country. And we deeply appreciate the work that thousands of postal employees do to get our newspapers to Canadians no matter rain, snow, sleet, or hail.
However, the current leadership of both Canada Post and CUPW have shown a disregard for community newspapers. They seem to have forgotten that we are customers. And good paying ones at that.
Let me cite two recent examples where publishers, many of whom are small businesses, are being harmed:
First, as of January 2024, community newspapers with commercial inserts are no longer exempt from Canada Post’s Consumers’ Choice program, which allows Canadians to opt out of receiving ‘junk mail’.
Like advertisements on the pages of a newspaper, commercial inserts pay for the content our journalists produce in community newspapers. Let me be clear: community newspapers with a flyer from the local hardware or grocery franchisee are not ‘junk mail’. Here’s what the impact of that decision looks like on the ground. The loss of $120,000 in annual flyer revenue to a community newspaper supports three jobs. Without that revenue, those three jobs are at high risk.
This arbitrary decision was made with zero stakeholder consultation or economic/social impact analysis. We hope Parliament will direct Canada Post to reverse this bone-headed decision.
Second, the decision by CUPW this September to escalate strike activity by neither processing nor delivering unaddressed flyers (Neighbourhood Mail) — whether intended or not — held community newspaper publishers hostage and deprived many Canadians of fact-based, fact-checked community news.
Again, let me stress: community newspapers are not “junk mail”.
While some of our publishers have service issues with their local postal station, these are generally isolated. And Canada Post has dramatically improved its resolution process in the past few years. For that, I would like to thank Mark Nailer and Julie Plouffe from Canada Post’s commercial mail division, who are always extremely helpful and responsive.
You may ask:
Why don’t you just abandon print and go digital? Wouldn’t that solve distribution challenges and your reliance on Canada Post?
With foreign tech giants creaming most of the digital ad dollars in this country, the economics of digital just don’t work for many. Digital ad dollars may be able to support large operations with scale or niche websites devoted to unpaid commentary, but we still need print ads and flyers to support a newsroom of full-time local journalists who do the hard painstaking work of covering cops, courts, and city hall. Real news costs real money.
Speaking of digital ad dollars, I would encourage this committee to examine federal advertising spending. The government’s agency of record is doing what is easiest and most profitable for them.
In 2023-2024, the Government of Canada spent more than $76 million on advertising. Of that, less than $1.4 million went to all print publications in the country combined.
Taxpayer dollars should be spent in Crowsnest Pass – not California and on companies that deliver facts, rather than on those whose algorithms foment misinformation and disinformation.
The Government should follow the Province of Ontario’s lead and announce in its November 4th Budget that it is setting aside a minimum of 25 per cent of ad spending for trusted news brands. And that comes as zero additional cost to the taxpayer.
Paul Deegan is president and chief executive officer of News Media Canada
Update from Doug Shipley MP
Every year, on November 11, we take the time to pause and honour the brave men and women who have fought to protect and uphold the freedoms we enjoy today. To show support for our veterans, I encourage you to wear a poppy, attend a Remembrance Day ceremony, or simply thank a veteran. It is our responsibility to make sure that their memory, service, and sacrifice are never forgotten.
If you wish to attend a service, the following ceremonies are among those taking place in the region:
- Royal Canadian Legion Branch 262 (Elmvale) – Ceremony will begin at 10:45 am at the Elmvale Cenotaph
- Royal Canadian Legion Branch 147 (Barrie) – Remembrance Day Parade and Ceremony, ceremony will begin at 10:15 at the Barrie Cenotaph in Memorial Square
- Springwater Park – Ceremony will begin at 10:45 am at the Springwater Provincial Park Cenotaph
- Oro-Medonte Remembrance Day Service on Sunday, November 9 – Ceremony will begin at 11 am at the Old Town Hall Cenotaph
If you are unable to attend a ceremony on Remembrance Day, please pause at 11 am to observe two minutes of silence. Take the opportunity to reflect and remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms.
I offer my thanks to the men and women who have served and continue to serve Canada, at home and abroad, for their efforts and sacrifices to keep our country and our communities safe.
We will never be able to truly repay our veterans, but we will continue to remember, respect, and honour them for their dedication to our country, their service, and the sacrifices they have made.
Lest we forget.
As always, my constituency office is available to assist you with any matters related to the federal government. Please contact my office at Doug.Shipley@parl.gc.ca or 705-728-2596 for assistance.
Sincerely,
Doug Shipley Member of Parliament, Barrie–Springwater–Oro-Medonte
Ontario Opens Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment Hub in Simcoe County
Province supporting community safety and addiction recovery with 28 HART Hubs delivering care across Ontario
By Ministry of Health, October 31, 2025 BARRIE — The Ontario government is expanding access to high-quality mental health and addictions care with the launch of a new Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hub in Barrie and surrounding communities. This is part of the province’s almost $550 million investment to open 28 HART Hubs across Ontario to protect the safety of children and families, while improving access to recovery and treatment services for people facing housing instability, mental health and substance use challenges.
“We are building a stronger, more connected system of mental health and addictions care that better reflects the needs of communities and focuses on lasting recovery,” said Vijay Thanigasalam, Associate Minister of Mental Health and Addictions. “The opening of this new HART Hub will ensure that people struggling with mental health and addictions challenges in Simcoe County can get the care they need on their path to recovery, while keeping the community safe.”
HART Hubs connect people to a range of comprehensive treatment and recovery services such as primary care, mental health services, addictions care, social services and employment support. The Simcoe County HART Hub is open for service across multiple locations, including Barrie, Orillia and Midland. The Bayfield Street location in Barrie serves as the central access point for walk-ins and general inquiries, while services are delivered through existing clinical and community sites across the region. The HART Hub is operated by the County of Simcoe and the City of Barrie with a number of local partners through a collaborative network of clinical, social service and care providers working together to connect individuals with the supports they need, when they need them.
Together, these partners deliver services tailored to the needs of the community, such as:
- Community outreach
- Withdrawal management
- Live-in addiction treatment and pre-treatment
- Mental health treatment
- Crisis support
- Mental Health and Addictions Supportive Housing
- Employment and social support
- Indigenous-specific services
- Primary care
Through Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care and building on the Roadmap to Wellness, the province is taking action to connect individuals to integrated mental health and addictions services, where and when they need it.
Quick Facts
- The Simcoe County HART hub has been offering services since summer 2025 and offers a unique, network-based model of care.
- The Simcoe County HART Hub delivers services in collaboration with the Barrie and Area Ontario Health Team (BAOHT), Barrie Native Friendship Centre, Canadian Mental Health Association – Simcoe County Branch (CMHA SCB), Mamaway Wiidokdaadwin IIPC/Barrie Area Native Advisory Circle (BANAC), Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) and Waypoint Centre for Mental Health Care.
- HART Hubs will also add close to 900 supportive housing units across the province. This is over 300 more than originally planned, helping people transition to stable, long-term housing.