Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government will extend $595 million in tax relief over a five-year period to news media outlets it defines as “eligible,” according to the Toronto Star.

The tax relief will include tax breaks for consumers who purchase subscriptions from news media outlets, refundable tax credits for news media outlets’ operational costs, and the extension of charitable status to non-profit news media organizations; registered charities with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) can issue charitable receipts to donors and benefactors for donations.

Eligibility will be determined by the government and government-established panels. Details regarding such determinations were not provided.

Canada’s Finance Minister Bill Morneau said, “We’ve made some investments to ensure that we continue that we have an important free press to ensure that we have a strong and healthy democracy. … To protect the vital role that independent news media play in our democracy and in our communities, we will be introducing measures to help support journalism in Canada.”

The Canadian government offered the following details of its proposal:

A temporary, non-refundable 15 per cent tax credit for qualifying subscribers of eligible digital news media, meant to help support digital news organizations in achieving a “more financially sustainable business model.”

A new category of “qualified donee” for non-profit journalism organizations. This will allow these organizations to issue receipts for donations from both individuals and corporations. And it will open the door for foundations to provide financial support. This measure builds on a pledge in the 2018 budget to explore new models to enable private giving and philanthropic support for journalism.

A refundable tax credit for qualifying news organizations that “produce a wide variety of news and information of interest to Canadians. The tax credit will apply to the labour costs associated with producing original content and will be open to both non-profit and for-profit news organizations. The measure will allow outlets to claim a portion of their labour costs. An independent panel drawn from the news industry will be established to define eligibility of the measure, which will take effect Jan. 1, 2019.

Various political and news media figures described the measure as corrupt.

The Trudeau government created a slush fund for “the country’s struggling journalism industry.” It’ll be doled out through boutique tax credits for approved media companies, costing taxpayers $595 million over 5 years… so what % of Canadian journalists receive taxpayer funding? — Candice Malcolm (@CandiceMalcolm) November 21, 2018

Expect more of this deliberate story censorship after the Liberal‘s Media Bailout! They’re using your tax dollars to:

1) sponsor enrichment

2) pay for the coverup when said enrichment goes against their narrative WAKE UP, PEOPLE! Our government and media are LYING TO YOU! https://t.co/sZFzu3IP6l — Faith J Goldy (@FaithGoldy) November 21, 2018

So there will be some sort of Trudeau-appointed panel of journalists set up to decide which media organizations are “legitimate” enough to deserve tax breaks from Ottawa. And if conservatives find problem with this, they’re “conspiracy theorists.” I see. https://t.co/xB1Cprt6HV — J.J. McCullough (@JJ_McCullough) November 21, 2018

A thriving free press is essential to Canada’s democracy, but the seemingly incestuous relationship between the Liberal government and a union representing journalists makes this media aid package highly questionable. — Steven Blaney (@HonStevenBlaney) November 21, 2018

Honestly, with this, free speech in Canada dies. If you don’t fit the criteria set by the Liberals, you won’t get taxdollars. Every person in this country should oppose this, and the people who accept these funds. https://t.co/WRThI6iW9L — Michelle Rempel (@MichelleRempel) November 21, 2018

Trudeau has just nationalized new journalism. The panel who will select who gets money based on “journalistic standards” will be set by him in both accounts, no doubt. Any journo that takes this money will no longer be independent. Thus dies journalism. https://t.co/vAbNIaPIqR — Michelle Rempel (@MichelleRempel) November 21, 2018

The Toronto Star reports that the Liberals will dole out $595,000,000 to journalists, but only to those who are “trusted”. Can you imagine those conversations, on the phone with @gmbutts? “We’d really like to support your newspaper — but we need to know: can we trust you?” https://t.co/XwhT9YjQBE — Ezra Levant (@ezralevant) November 21, 2018

Already corrupt. No disclosure that the Globe itself was lobbying for this money. No disclosure that their Unifor union promised to attack Andrew Scheer as a quid pro quo. https://t.co/ac22wbOQwK — Ezra Levant (@ezralevant) November 21, 2018

“A key question that remains unanswered is which organizations will be eligible for the new measures & which ones will be excluded. The govt said the package will aim to help “trusted” news organizations”. So it’s an ideological test, a subjective test. Does Trudeau trust you? https://t.co/voJHs2lOmQ — Ezra Levant (@ezralevant) November 21, 2018

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