Senator Klyne: That alert system is great for alerting some, but there’s a coordination of resources, communities and families that needs to take place. That is a void. We experienced that in Saskatchewan during that mass murder.

If the impasse with Meta is not resolved, does the government have ideas for the medium-term and long-term to fill the dire gap in local news access for these communities?

Hon. Marty Klyne: Senator Gold, my question is with respect to Bill C-18 — the Online News Act — and northern communities. In August, Catherine Tait, President and CEO of CBC/Radio-Canada, wrote to Meta asking Meta to consider that many people living in remote northern communities in Canada depend on getting news on Facebook. This was during the wildfires that forced the evacuation of Yellowknife.

She wrote:

Given the emergency conditions, we are calling on you to exempt people in these communities from Meta’s current blockage of news accounts in Canada so that they are able to share critical news on those accounts, including evacuation order information.

Senator Gold, what actions have the federal government taken or planned to ensure that everyone living in remote northern communities can be informed of risks normally shared on the news via Facebook?