Google has reached a deal with Canada to avert a news blockade over a law that forces tech giants to pay for news content.
Google had vowed to remove links to news in Canada in response to the Online News Act, due to take effect on 19 December.
Social media giant Meta is already blocking news on its platforms as a result of the law.
The deal comes after months of talks between the search giant and Canada.
The agreement announced on Wednesday requires Google pay C$100m (£58m, $74m) annually, indexed to inflation, to news outlets.
The statement said that Google would pay a “single collective” which would distribute the funds to eligible news agencies “based on the number of full-time equivalent journalists engaged by those businesses”.
“A sustainable news ecosystem is good for everyone,” Ms St-Onge said, adding that newsrooms closing and laying off workers means that “the health of the Canadian news industry has never been more at risk”.
Google released a statement saying it is “pleased that the Government of Canada has committed to addressing our core issues” with the bill.
“While we work with the government through the exemption process based on the regulations that will be published shortly, we will continue sending valuable traffic to Canadian publishers,” the company’s statement continued.
Canada’s Online News Act was met with outrage from the tech companies when it was passed this summer, while many media groups hailed it as a positive step towards market fairness.