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ONLINE NEWS ACTCost Recovery (Online News Act) RegulationsThe Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission makes the annexed Cost Recovery (Online News Act) Regulations under section 81 of the Online News Acta.aS.C. 2023, c. 23Gatineau, February 20, 2025Le secrétaire général du Conseil de la radiodiffusion et des télécommunications canadiennesMarc MorinSecretary General, Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications CommissionThe Treasury Board, on the recommendation of the Minister of Canadian Heritage, approves the annexed Cost Recovery (Online News Act) Regulations made by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission under section 81 of the Online News Acta.Interpretation

Definition of Act1In these Regulations, Act means the Online News Act.

News revenue2The news revenue of an operator for a calendar year is the gross Canadian revenue that the operator generates, directly or indirectly, from making news content available through any digital news intermediary that it operates in that year, excluding any amount received from another operator to which these Regulations apply, established on the basis of(a)the annual return filed by the operator; or(b)if the operator has not filed an annual return for the year or the return is inaccurate or incomplete, an estimate by the Commission based on the following, where relevant:(i)information provided by the operator,(ii)the trends of the market in which the digital news intermediary is operated,(iii)the previous financial performance of the operator, and(iv)the business plan of the operator.

Annual Return

April 303On or before April 30 of each year, an operator must file with the Commission a return with respect to the preceding calendar year that is in the form provided by the Commission and contains the information required by the Commission, including information respecting the operator’s news revenue with respect to each digital news intermediary that it operated.

Cost Recovery Charge

Calculation of charge4(1)The cost recovery charge for an operator for a fiscal year is the sum of the base assessment amount determined in accordance with subsection (2) and the annual adjustment amount for the previous fiscal year determined in accordance with subsection (3).Base assessment amount(2)The base assessment amount is the result of the following formula(A ÷ B) × CwhereAis the operator’s news revenue for the immediately preceding calendar year;Bis the aggregate news revenue of all operators for that calendar year; andCis the estimated costs incurred by the Commission in the fiscal year that are attributable to the Commission exercising its powers and carrying out its duties and functions under the Act and that will not be recovered under regulations made under subsection 79(1) of the Act.Annual adjustment(3)The annual adjustment amount is the result of the following formula(A ÷ B) × (D − E)whereAis the operator’s news revenue for the immediately preceding calendar year;Bis the aggregate news revenue of all operators for that calendar year;Dis the actual costs incurred by the Commission in the fiscal year that are attributable to the Commission exercising its powers and carrying out its duties and functions under the Act as set out in Part III of the Estimates of the Government of Canada and that are not recovered under regulations made under subsection 79(1) of the Act; andEis the amount determined for C in subsection (2) for the fiscal year.Recovery charge negative(4)If the amount of the recovery charge for the fiscal year is negative, that amount is not repaid to the operator but is instead deducted from the amount of the recovery charge that the operator is to pay for the following fiscal year.

Publication — estimated costs5The Commission must, in each fiscal year, publish a notice in the Canada Gazette, Part I, setting out the estimated costs to be incurred by the Commission in that fiscal year that are attributable to the Commission exercising its powers and carrying out its duties and functions under the Act.

Payment within 30 days6An operator must pay a cost recovery charge to the Commission within 30 days after the day on which the invoice respecting that charge was sent.

Transitional Provision

News revenue for 20247An operator must report its news revenue for 2024 to the Commission, in the form required by the Commission, within 60 days after the day on which these Regulations come into force.

Coming into Force

April 1, 20258These Regulations come into force on April 1, 2025, but, if they are registered after that day, they come into force on the day on which they are registered.