With the 2017 federal budget, we have entered into the second year of the government’s five-year commitment to restore funding for CBC/Radio-Canada after decades of cuts.

The Canadian Media Guild was disappointed that last year CBC management committed just 5% of the first instalment of additional funding to news and local programming. 

With this year’s funding, CMG is urging CBC/Radio-Canada’s management to put a larger portion of the $150-million toward rebuilding capacity in communities across the country including in newsgathering and original reporting, as well as other local programming Canadians expect and deserve.

The ongoing cuts have had a negative impact on our members. The CMG believes increased workload and other demands have led to high stress levels in the workforce.

The reality of CBC/Radio-Canada is that job numbers have dropped significantly over the last 8 years, from approximately 4,200 to less than 3,500 permanent and contract positions. Even with more public funding committed by the current government in order to rebuild the CBC after decades of cuts, we are still seeing the institution reduce its size and capacity. Much of this is the result of outsourcing/freelancing and commissioning.

CBC Branch Executive,
Canadian Media Guild (CMG)