Prime Minister Mark Carney may alter or rescind the Online News Act to expand local news access during natural disasters, two years after Meta banned news in response to the Liberal imposed legislation. 

On Tuesday, Carney opened a news conference on softwood lumber by noting the harsh impact of this summer's wildfires, as reported by the National Post. Among the more devastating fires is one near West Kelowna that necessitated the evacuation of about 400 properties.

“This government is a big believer in the value of … local news and the importance of ensuring that that is disseminated as widely and as quickly as possible. So, we will look for all avenues to do that,” he told reporters. 

The government's plans to improve local news dissemination are unclear.

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Meta permanently cut news access for Canadian users on August 1, 2023, due to C-18, the Online News Act, leaving residents without news during wildfire evacuations in West Kelowna and Yellowknife.

Meta claims media companies, not Meta, profit from news shared on Facebook and Instagram. In June 2023, the tech giant stated that news only makes up 3% of Facebook content and wouldn't say if they'd lift the ban during natural disasters.

Meanwhile, Google took a different approach, having signed a $100 million annual deal with Canadian publishers that remains active.

Following Meta's block of Canadian news, then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau accused the company of prioritizing "corporate profits ahead of people's safety." Meta's pop-up notifications blocked wildfire-related posts, thus hindering information sharing.

“Instead of making sure that local journalists are fairly paid for keeping Canadians informed on things like wildfires, Facebook is blocking news from its sites,” Trudeau said in August 2023. 

Meta responded by activating Facebook's "Safety Check" feature, which lets users notify loved ones of their safety during a crisis. 

At the time, a spokesperson said Canadians can still “access reputable information” from official government agencies, emergency services and non-governmental organizations.

Meta did not immediately provide comment to Rebel News on Carney’s remarks yesterday.