As satisfying as it is to watch the Prime Minister of Canada absolutely torch Bell and others for the way they do business at all of our expense, I have to say that it would be much more satisfying if someone…anyone in government with any sort of real power had said some version of it decades ago instead of quietly allowing the sort of market conditions that create this very thing to do what they were designed to do while pretending they were doing the opposite. Both sides of the aisle have been so afraid to tell corporations “no, you can’t buy that” or “no, you’re not the ones setting policy” in any meaningful way that now we’re dealing with this in broadcasting, telecom, groceries, banking, you name it. And it’s only going to get worse if we don’t go beyond some tough words that feel good in the moment. These industries have gotten so big that they’re governing us instead of it being the other way round, and they don’t have to care what we think about it.
A fired-up Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unleashed on Bell on Friday, calling its move to layoff thousands of employees — including hundreds of journalists — a “garbage decision.”
“I’m pretty pissed off about what’s just happened,” Trudeau said during a press conference in Toronto.
“This is the erosion not just of journalism, of quality local journalism at a time where people need it more than ever, given misinformation and disinformation…. It’s eroding our very democracy, our abilities to tell stories to each other.”“I’m furious. This was a garbage decision by a corporation that should know better,” said Trudeau.
“We need those local voices and over the past years, corporate Canada — and there are many culprits on this — have abdicated their responsibility toward the communities that they have always made very good profits off of in various ways.”“We have been stepping up over the past years, fighting for local journalism, fighting for investments that we can have, while all the while fending off attacks from Conservatives and others who say, ‘No, no, no, you’re trying to buy off journalists,'” he said.
Trudeau suggested his government will be “demanding” better from corporations like Bell, but it’s not yet clear what that would look like.
