Ottawa and Google agreed earlier this week on the final regulatory framework that will establish a contribution system to help Canadian media, announced Pascale Saint-Onge, Canadian Heritage Minister, on Wednesday.

The total contribution amount, which will be included in the settlement, is $100 million annually, a final amount linked annually to inflation.

Just a few weeks ago, Ottawa estimated that compensations should reach $172 million. Instead, Google estimated the value of its bonds at $100 million.

"This is truly a historic moment," Minister Saint-Onge responded at her press conference where she announced this statement. This is the first time such a transparent mechanism has been created.

According to her, the regulations will allow Google to deal with one group representing all eligible media, including community media.

For his part, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said during a press gathering: It was not easy.

He added: "We are very happy that we were able to reach an agreement with Google to ensure support for journalists, including small local media, for years to come."

Trudeau also emphasized that many countries facing the same challenges as Canada are studying this agreement. He confirmed that this is a model for our democracy.

Simplified negotiations...

In addition to the size of the financial demands, Google expressed concern last October about what its spokesperson Shay Burdy described as critical structural issues in the Online News Act. The company rejected the mandatory negotiation and arbitration model imposed on it with Canadian news organizations and preferred to deal with a single contact point.

Thus, Ottawa succeeded in alleviating the concerns of the search engine giant that threatened to block Canadian news content on its platform.