Church publications worry about postal crackdown
By ChristianWeek staff
Some religious publications are facing substantial increases in mailing costs after the Department of Canadian Heritage has revamped its Publishing Assistance Program (PAP).
"The biggest issue is that you can no longer automatically give someone a publication as part of a membership of something else," explains Marianne Meed Ward, president of the Canadian Church Press and editor of Faith Today.
More than 50 percent of a publication’s circulation must be paid circulation in order for the magazine or newspaper to qualify for assistance. If members of an organization receive the publication automatically as a result of paying membership fees, they do not qualify as paid circulation, according to Heritage Canada regulations.
Losing the subsidy will mean a huge extra expense for some publications. The Mennonite Brethren Herald, for example, faces an increase of about $100,000 in mailing costs if Heritage Canada decides the magazine is no longer eligible for the subsidy.
"They want us to be able to show that every subscriber getting the paper has made a decision whether or not they want to be getting the paper," explains Harold Jantz, a member of the board that publishes the Herald.
The Anglican Journal, which distributes its paper widely through church membership, has asked a lawyer to negotiate with Canada Post.
The Canadian Gideon is considering cutting back publishing from bi-monthly to quarterly. The magazine’s costs will triple from $500 to $1,500 per mailing as a result of losing the subsidy.
Faith Today is also facing changes. "Most of our publications are distributed through membership," says Meed Ward. Members who choose in the future not to receive the magazine will probably need to be given a price differential, she says.
Sorting through the issue might take some time. There appears to be "a great deal of confusion and backlog in preparing to implement the program," writes CCP administrative assistant Audrey Dorsch in the organization’s March newsletter.
Publications had until the end of March to file their plans with Heritage Canada.
