Quebec will provide $36 million over the next five years to support local and community print media, Finance Minister Carlos Leitão said in his budget speech, the Montreal Gazette reports.
“The existence of a lively, diversified and high-quality print media sector is crucial for the vitality of our culture, but also for the health of our democratic way of life throughout Quebec, and particularly in the regions,” Leitão said.
In addition to providing support for local journalism, and its digital evolution, the provincial government also provided help to publishers on recycling fees. The government will also reduce by $12 million over four years the amount newspapers have to pay to subsidize municipal recycling programs.