Despite the media sector's ongoing struggle with the global recession, the Canadian government has no plans to unfasten restrictions on foreign control of media groups, according to Minister of Industry Tony Clement, Reuters UK reported Wednesday.

While a parliamentary bill loosening laws on foreign ownership in the airline and uranium industries has reached Ottawa, the media sector is not expected to see similar changes.

"Clearly it (the bill) doesn't apply to the media industry so that's a longer-term project, it's not in the foreseeable future," Clement told reporters, Reuters UK reported.

Broadcasters and media firms throughout Canada have already cut hundreds of jobs in the opening months of 2009 as the economy continues to dry up advertising revenue.

Publicly owned media firms will not receive special treatment either. The country's finance minster last week said that the Canadian government did not "plan to get into the business of subsidizing media," according to Reuters UK.