Federal labour minister Joe Fontana called the situation under the lockout “unacceptable” and wanted to hear a plan to resolve it immediately when he met this morning with the Canadian Media Guild and CBC management in Hull.

The Guild’s full negotiating team was at the meeting, as was CBC president Robert Rabinovitch, human resources V-P George Smith and management’s lead negotiator, Stephen Satchel.

Bargaining resumed immediately after the meeting with Fontana. Smith has stayed on for the talks but Rabinovitch told Fontana it would be “inappropriate” for the president and CEO of the CBC to participate.

Mediator Elizabeth MacPherson, the head of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, has also joined the talks, which will continue in Hull. Fontana told the two sides he would meet with them again this afternoon, after Question Period in the House of Commons.

MacPherson has asked the two sides to send out limited information about the talks in order to give the new process a fair chance. However, we will provide updates on major developments.