Publications Assistance Program (PAP)

The Department of Canadian Heritage, through the Publications Assistance Program (PAP), works in partnership with the Canada Post Corporation (CPC) to offset the mailing costs of Canadian content magazines and non-daily newspapers mailed within Canada.

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible, publications must meet certain requirements outlined in detail in the Application Guide. Key elements of these criteria include:

• in operation for one financial year and one completed publishing cycle;
  Canadian-ownership and control;
• edited, designed, assembled, published and printed in Canada;
• paid circulation comprising at least 50% of total circulation, through bona fide subscriptions and single copy sales through retailers/newsstands;
• a significant portion of original material produced by Canadians;
  a maximum of 70 % advertising;
• minimum frequency of 2 times and maximum of 56 times per year;
• minimum subscription price of $12 or more per year or a value of $1 or more per issue, and minimum single-copy-sale price of $0.50 per issue in the case of a weekly newspaper and of $1 per issue in the case of a periodical.

There is no deadline for submitting an application to PAP.

Eligible Activities

Publishers may apply PAP funding to only a specific number of copies per issue for delivery in Canada through the Canada Post Corporation as either paid or request circulation, as defined in the Publications Assistance Program - Applicant's Guide. The number of eligible copies per issue is determined through an annual verification process and communicated to each publisher in their approval letter.

Paid circulation publishers may apply funding to copies destined to bona fide subscribers, newsstands and retailers, as well as single copies sold.

Request circulation publishers may apply funding to copies individually addressed to recipients who have provided a signed, written request, or a verified telephone request for the publication. Funding may also be applied to bulk mailings where each copy is destined to individual requestors.

Both paid and request circulation publishers may apply funding to catalogues, directories and guides sent as inserts only if they share the same title and ISSN as the host publication.

It is the publisher's responsibility to apply their PAP registration number properly at the time of mailing or to inform their mailing houses of the proper use of PAP funding.

Summary

The PAP helps to connect Canadians from coast-to-coast-to-coast, by helping all Canadians have access to the rich literature, fine reporting and fierce opinions contained in Canadian magazines and community newspapers.

By offsetting the cost of reaching readers so that the subscription costs are the same anywhere in this vast country, Canadians can overcome geographic distances and communicate their ideas, opinions and art through print. The PAP, and its predecessor programs, have been helping Canadians do this since before Confederation. The program helps to build capacity in the Canadian publishing industry, while also fostering geographic, cultural and linguistic communities through the support of local, ethnic, aboriginal and minority language publications.

Currently, the Publications Assistance Program provides support to:

• over 215 million copies of Canadian publications;
• magazines and community newspapers, as well as publications serving ethnocultural, aboriginal and minority official language communities; and
• 1 200 publications overall.

The mail is an essential delivery mechanism for Canadian publishers to reach readers and, therefore, be able to attract the advertisers that are the primary source of revenue.

The objectives of the Publications Assistance Program are:

• to reduce the cost of distributing Canadian magazines and non-daily newspapers within Canada; and
• to increase Canadian readers' access to magazines and non-daily newspapers with high levels of Canadian editorial content.

Postal subsidy

The Department of Canadian Heritage administers the postal subsidy under the Publications Assistance Program on behalf of the Government of Canada in partnership with the Canada Post Corporation.

Access to the PAP is dependent on a publisher's ability to meet the publication mail standards. To obtain additional information on the Canada Post publication mailing rates; or the Credit Application form to obtain a Deposit Account (or other Canada Post forms), visit the Canada Post's Web site or contact your local Canada Post representative.

For more information on the Program eligibility criteria and related forms, consult the Publications Assistance Program - Applicant's Guide, or visit the Publications Assistance program's Web site.

Manitoba Contact(s):
See National Contact.

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National Contact(s):
Periodical Publishing Programs
Publications Assistance Program
Canadian Heritage
15-4-F
15 Eddy Street
Gatineau, Quebec  K1A 0M5
Telephone: 819-997-4974
Fax: 819-997-4995
Toll-free (information): 1-800-641-9221
E-mail: pap@pch.gc.ca
Web site: http://www.canadianheritage.gc.ca/pap