Today, CBC/Radio-Canada employees received the disheartening news that some of their colleagues will face layoffs due to a projected $125 million shortfall in 2024.
This announcement comes as the Canadian Media Guild is in active negotiations for a new collective agreement.
“Although we expected budget cuts, the bargaining committee for the CBC/Radio-Canada Branch of the CMG was shocked by this news as we did not expect to see this level of job loss,” said Naomi Robinson, CBC Branch President.
The president of CBC/Radio-Canada, Catherine Tait, said Monday morning that current financial projections would require them to cut up to 500 unionized jobs and 100 non-unionized jobs in 2024 in addition to the 200 positions that have not been filled over recent months for a total of 800 positions.
Decades of successive cuts have challenged CBC/Radio-Canada’s ability to connect Canadians with their unique culture. Despite being tasked with doing more with fewer resources, the dedicated media workers at the public broadcaster remain faithful to the mandate given by the Federal Government to CBC/Radio-Canada.
These job losses will impose additional burdens on employees who are already grappling with making ends meet on wages that have not kept pace with the rising cost of living. While our members remain committed to their work with Canada’s public broadcaster, the reduction in journalists and technicians means that fewer stories will be told, and the richness of Canada’s narrative will diminish.
Even if Ottawa spares CBC/Radio-Canada from budget compressions, this will not be sufficient and the budgetary deficit faced by the public broadcaster will jeopardize the reliability of essential news sources, underscoring the imperative for the public broadcaster to have secure funding immune to political interference. We propose that a portion of this funding be sourced from the profits of multinationals responsible for disrupting the Canadian media ecosystem. We appeal to the federal government to ensure the timely allocation of funds to CBC/Radio-Canada, safeguarding its ability to fulfill its mandate effectively.
We are hopeful considering the statements made this morning by the Minister of Heritage. Pascale St-Onge emphasized multiple times that a definitive decision is yet to be reached regarding whether CBC/Radio-Canada will be required to adhere to the 3% budget cuts mandated by Ottawa for its ministries and agencies over three years.
“We urgently call on the federal government to secure CBC/Radio-Canada’s funding before it’s too late, ensuring that the public broadcaster can continue fulfilling its mandate,” said Annick R. Forest, president of the CMG.
The Canadian Media Guild (CMG) represents over 4000 members, including editorial, technical, and administrative staff at CBC and at Radio-Canada in all provinces and territories except for the province of Québec and in the city of Moncton, New Brunswick.
“We are dismayed and frustrated by the enormous impact these budgetary cuts will have on our members, the workers responsible for creating the content seen, heard, and read every day on our public airwaves and platforms,” Forest added.
Annick R. Forest, President, Canadian Media Guild
Naomi Robinson, CBC Branch President, Canadian Media Guild