Islanders worry about loss of ultra-local news as SaltWire files for creditor protection

With the parent company of The Guardian and the Journal Pioneer filing for creditor protection this week, readers of those P.E.I. publications say they're worried it could be the death blow for an already struggling local news market. 

SaltWire Network, the largest newspaper publisher in Atlantic Canada, said the move is a proactive attempt to reorganize the company's financials and prevent any future economic issues.

But some readers in Prince Edward Island are concerned the company's financial situation could lead to the loss of hyper-local news, something they don't feel they have enough of now.

"I just hope it's not one more loss," said Summerside resident Mary Lou Profitt.

"I don't listen to the international news anymore than I have to. And I think coming from Prince Edward Island and knowing the Island way, it's important to Islanders to get your local good-news stories."

Back in 2017, the owners of Halifax's Chronicle Herald purchased 27 newspapers in Atlantic Canada to establish SaltWire. 

This week, court documents said SaltWire has assets of almost $33 million and more than $94 million in debt, with roughly a third of that owed to its lender, Fiera Private Debt. However, the company claims its debt is closer to $64 million, according to documents submitted by its lawyers.

SaltWire also owes more than $7 million in unpaid HST to the Canada Revenue Agency, while the Chronicle Herald owes $2.6 million for missed pension plan payments, the documents said.

"It'll be a big loss if we happen to lose any of those papers," said Blue Shank Road resident Shirley McCourt. "I enjoy reading The Guardian online every day, and then I read the Journal [Pioneer] once a week on Wednesdays when it's published."

Summerside's David Olscamp remembers when the paper was a daily must-have for residents.

"I used to come in when I was 10 to 13 every day to pick up the Journal and sell them on the street, when everybody was buying them," he said in an interview at Samuel's Coffee Shop in Summerside. 

But now, Olscamp said even his own reliance on the paper is dwindling with the rise of news available on cell phones and social media.

"[It's] just one more thing that's disappearing on us," he said.

SaltWire has hundreds of employees across Atlantic Canada. The unions that represent them say they're monitoring the situation closely to protect employees' jobs, salaries and pensions.