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Assistance for Groupe Capitales Médias: Quebecor asks court to declare Order in Council null and void
Assistance for Groupe Capitales Médias: Quebecor asks court to declare Order in Counc...
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[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n\nAssistance for Groupe Capitales Médias: Quebecor asks court to declare Order in Council null and void\n\n/* Style Definitions */\nspan.prnews_span\n{\nfont-size:8pt;\nfont-family:\"Arial\";\ncolor:black;\n}\na.prnews_a\n{\ncolor:blue;\n}\nli.prnews_li\n{\nfont-size:8pt;\nfont-family:\"Arial\";\ncolor:black;\n}\np.prnews_p\n{\nfont-size:0.62em;\nfont-family:\"Arial\";\ncolor:black;\nmargin:0in;\n}\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCanada NewsWire\nMONTRÉAL, Feb. 21, 2018\n\n\n\nMONTRÉAL, Feb. 21, 2018 /CNW Telbec/ - Quebecor filed a motion in Superior Court today to have the Government of Québec Order in Council of December 2017 that extended $10 million in financial assistance to Groupe Capitales Médias (GCM) declared null and void. Quebecor believes that in granting this loan in a discretionary manner, the government abused its authority under the Act respecting Investissement Québec, rendering the decision illegal and setting a dangerous precedent for democracy in the 21st century.\n\n\"Given the importance of maintaining media independence from the government, any government spending to support print media should be the exception and must be made in a standardized and even-handed manner,\" said Pierre Karl Péladeau, President and CEO of Quebecor. \"What we see in this case is precisely the opposite. Just months before an election campaign, the government is misusing its authority by granting ad hoc financial assistance, without established and known criteria, to one media group. This is a situation that called for the highest degree of transparency. Instead, the government has proceeded in an entirely arbitrary fashion and shown blatant favouritism.\" \n\nThe financial support for GCM is particularly surprising and unacceptable in view of the fact that it was extended barely two weeks after the Minister of Culture and Communications of Québec announced the eligibility criteria for a $19.2 million program designed to help the digital shift of print media. The program's purpose was precisely to \"stimulate the transformation of business models by supporting the initiation or continuation of the shift to digital by print news media.\" \n\nQuebecor's motion notes that section 19 of the Act respecting Investissement Québec, on which the Order in Council was based, stipulates that \"...