Federal money's kept hundreds of journalists employed in Canada. But the program's set to expire

A federal program that funds hundreds of local journalists and underserved regions across the country is set to expire at the end of March, and the independent newsrooms that rely on it have no news about whether it will be renewed.

The uncertainty comes amid mass layoffs in and uncertainty in some of Canada's biggest newsrooms, and at a time when politicians such as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau express anger at their leaders.

The Local Journalism Initiative (LJI), created by the Canadian Heritage ministry in 2019, doled out $50 million over five years. News organizations could apply and receive money to hire journalists or pay freelance journalists to report on underserved communities and issues.

The initiative was launched because at that time, the national media landscape was already dire. According to think-tank Public Policy Forum's Shattered Mirror report in 2017, 225 weekly and 27 daily newspapers had closed or merged operations since 2010.

But LJI funding is scheduled to end on March 31, and there are no answers on whether it will be renewed.

«In total, there are over 400 LJI reporters across Canada at nearly 300 media outlets serving some 1,400 local communities,» said Paul Deegan, president and CEO of News Media Canada, which is one of six groups that administer LJI funding.

«Frankly, there are no other current federal funding initiatives that can replace it. It is a world-class program that other countries are looking at.»

The federal government isn't ready to tip its hand about the program's future.

«We cannot today announce anything,» a spokesperson for the federal heritage ministry told CBC in a statement Wednesday.

«We will continue to support local journalism in substantial ways that tells our stories and