According to the Department of Canadian Heritage, despite receiving a $595 million bailout from the federal government four years ago, news corporations have continued to decline. In a testimony to the Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications, Associate Assistant Deputy Heritage Minister Thomas Ripley spoke about Bill 18, the Online News Act, which aims to create a legislative and regulatory framework to address the bargaining imbalances between digital platforms and media outlets. Ripley mentioned a significant decline in journalism and stated that the labor tax credit put in place did not improve the situation. Data from the Department of Canadian Heritage shows that the bailout did not generate any net job creation in newsrooms. Bob Cox, Chair of the lobby group News Media Canada, had said that the program is expected to be for five years, and there should be a deadline as a long-term subsidy for newspapers shouldn’t be permanent.