Personally, new Kelowna Liberal MP Stephen Fuhr believes the Online News Act (Bill C-18) probably needs to be scrapped.
And with Fuhr's appointment today to Prime Minister Mark Carney's federal cabinet as secretary of state for defence procurement, Fuhr potentially has the ear of the prime minister to start the ball rolling on having Bill C-18 repealed.
KelownaNow spoke with Fuhr shortly after being named a junior minister to offer congratulations and revisit the Bill C-18 crisis.
KelownaNow and many other news organizations want Bill C-18 axed because it badly backfired.
In 2023, the previous Liberal government, under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, created the Online News Act with the intent to force the likes of Facebook and Instagram to pay news outlets for the links to news it carries on its platforms.
It was a so-called 'price on links' or a 'link tax.'
But, rather than pay up, Facebook and Instagram (collectively known as Meta) simply blocked news on its platforms, doubly hurting news outlets.
News outlets' stories no longer had massive distribution on Facebook and Instagram, and they never got the payday the federal government anticipated.
Thus, the aforementioned disastrous backfire.
"My opinion on Bill C-18 hasn't changed," said Fuhr today.
"It's had unintended consequences and has to be looked at again."
In April, while campaigning for the job of Kelowna MP, Fuhr went even further.
"It's a problem," he said.
"I think there were unintended consequences to what they were trying to achieve and I think they probably need to scrap it and come up with something different."
When asked by KelownaNow when he would bring Bill C-18 up to the new government, Fuhr talked about other priorities, such as his first meetings as secretary of state for defence procurement.
"When I have a moment, I will raise it," he said.
When asked when he would have a moment, Fuhr replied: "I will raise it at the appropriate time."
KelownaNow then asked when the appropriate time would be.
"At the earliest opportunity, I will raise it because I know it's important," Fuhr summed up.
Back in March, considering the Bill C-18 dilemma, Fuhr wrote a letter of support calling KelownaNow "integral to the landscape, providing coverage of local government, business, sports and community events."
He went on to say: "I urge you (the letter was addressed to then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and then Minister of Canadian Heritage Pascale St-Onge) to acknowledge the role of independent local media across Canada and to explore ways to support its ongoing presence."
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Prime Minister Mark Carney tapped Fuhr as secretary of state for defence procurement for his unique experiences in aviation and the military.
Fuhr, who was also the Liberal MP for Kelowna-Lake Country from 2015 to 2019, most recently worked as pilot examiner for Transport Canada.
From 2009-12, was CEO of SKYTRAC Systems, a provider of aircraft satellite communications.
And from 1989-2009, Fuhr was a pilot with the Royal Canadian Air Force, including time as a CF-18 fighter pilot.
Fuhr knew a week ago that something might be up as far as being appointed to cabinet because he told he was undergoing an extensive security check.
Carney called Fuhr on Saturday and asked him to be secretary of state for defence procurement.
And then Fuhr was announced as a junior minister along with the rest of Carney's cabinet and sworn in at Rideau Hall.
The Kelowna Chamber of Commerce congratulated Fuhr on his cabinet appointment and expects him -- and his position -- to bring more attention to local issues such as housing, transportation infrastructure and the fight against invasive mussels in Okanagan Lake.
"We're pleased that a Kelowna MP has been given this key new role in the government," said chamber board chair Derek Gratz.
"It always brings more attention to a city when one of our representatives has a seat at the decision-making table in Ottawa."
Prime Minister Carney stated pre-election that he would create a defence purchasing agency to speed up miliary equipment procurement and buy Canadian whenever possible.
Canada's defence spending is set to rise from 1.4% to 2% of GDP (gross domestic product) annually.
More on the Online News Act/Bill C-18 can be found here:
