After 67 years, Radio Canada International’s shortwave facility in Sackville, NB, is closing today following the cuts in the spring federal budget. The radio service was shut down in the summer and what remains is a web-based service . Twelve CMG members who maintained the shortwave facility are affected by the closure: two were redeployed and 10 are being laid off. In addition, several CMG members across the country lost their jobs when the radio service closed.

“For more than 67 years Radio Canada International’s shortwave transmitters have guaranteed that Canada’s voice would be heard despite the Cold War, despite natural disasters, and Internet blocking,” points out the RCI Action Committee.

Meanwhile, an American listener has launched a petition to save the shortwave RCI service. Thomas Witherspoon of Swannanoa, NC, argues shortwave is an important tool to reach people around the world and to provide service across Canada in the event of an emergency that shuts down other forms of communication.

We wish our colleagues well and we continue to work to secure adequate and stable funding for public broadcasting.

For more information, contact the Guild (info@cmg.ca) at 416-591-5333 or 1-800-465-4149.