Once again the Canadian government shows their contempt for the preservation of cultural heritage, this time by creating new rules that will effectively kill almost every literary magazine in the country.

While the overall aid-to-publishers budget is roughly the same as last year – $73-million – a single title can now receive only a maximum of $1.5-million a year. The only exception to this cap are agricultural publications such as The Western Producer, Canadian Cattlemen and Grainews.

Moreover, small publications with a total annual paid circulation of 5,000 copies or less are ineligible for any CPF assistance, with exemptions for aboriginal, ethno-cultural and official language publications.

The rules are part of the new Canada Periodical Fund that Heritage Minister James Moore announced last year would be replacing two funding streams; the Canadian Magazine Fund, which supported editorial content and business development, and the Publications Assistance Program, which subsidized the mailing costs. (For instance, it costs Maclean’s 80 cents to ship a copy to Newfoundland while for downtown Toronto it’s 38 cents.)

The motivation, Moore said, was to create a more streamlined, flexible and balanced system.