In an attempt to assuage fears that the Liberal government will falter in its negotiations with social media giants over Bill C-18 after its latest cabinet shuffle, the new Heritage Minister Pascale St-Onge says she will pick up where Pablo Rodriguez left off and move full steam ahead.
According to the Globe and Mail, St-Onge said that there will be no compromise with tech giants despite bringing a fresh face to the role.
“Our government is going to keep standing our ground,” said St-Onge.
“Canadians expect tech giants to pay their fair share.”
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a massive cabinet overhaul, replacing top ministers in national defence, transportation and other profiles.
In response to Bill C-18, also known as the Online News Act, receiving royal assent, both Meta and Google have threatened to completely block Canadian news from their platforms.
“Today, we are confirming that news availability will be ended on Facebook and Instagram for all users in Canada prior to the Online News Act (Bill C-18) taking effect,” wrote Meta in June.
The US government has also threatened to embroil itself into the fight with Canada over its digital regulation.
Last year. US Trade Representative Katherine Tai pressed the Trudeau government on Bill C-18 and Bill C-11, claiming that both bills would discriminate against American businesses.
“Ambassador Tai expressed concern about Canada’s proposed unilateral digital service tax and pending legislation in the Canadian Parliament that could impact digital streaming services and online news sharing and discriminate against U.S. businesses,” wrote Tai concerning a meeting with Minister of International Trade Mary Ng.
St-Onge formerly held the role of Minister of Sport and is currently being briefed on the status of the Online News Act.
The latest statement from Google on Thursday also indicated that the company will continue to resist efforts by the Canadian government.
“We hope that the government will be able to outline a viable path forward before the law takes effect,” said St-Onge.
