The Parliamentary Budget Office’s new analysis also said Canadian news companies will spend $20.8 million between them to prepare for bargaining with companies like Alphabet and Meta under the terms of the Liberals’ Online News Act. Smaller companies will account for a disproportionate share of that spending, the PBO said, because they lack the in-house expertise of bigger ones. (The Logic)

Talking point: The PBO’s work is based on the Australian experience with similar legislation, which is the model for the bill a House of Commons committee is currently studying. Spokesperson Sloane Mask told The Logic the PBO “validated the findings from the Australian experience through consultations with Canadian industry and government officials” to conclude that the licensing agreements Bill C-18 would require will cover about 30 per cent of qualified journalism outlets’ costs of gathering and presenting content. The Logic’s CEO David Skok has testified in support of the bill, on the grounds that large platforms are already striking payment deals that favour large media companies. Other small publishers are opposed to the bill in its current form.