Minutes
CBC Toronto Local Executive Committee Meeting Minutes – Feb 13, 2025
•  Posted on  June 30, 2025  

LEC Meeting
10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

CMG office
311 Adelaide Street East 

Attending:  Kat,  Lara, Sarah,  Jag, Myriam, Arman, Sheena Attending remotely:  Dave (for portions)

Cannot attend:    Mathieu, Pooja,

Adoption of agenda : Sheena moves, Jag seconds, passes unanimously

*Adoption of past minutes  – Dec 12 & Jan 23 – delay until later to be done at as e-vote on a later date

Lara: Updates  on Education

  • Start with Employee Rights  (Article 1) with new CA to be published in both English and French  before Producer’s  Authority
  • Suggests biz card format, one  side with QR code and heading of employee rights
  • Jag  – include QR code  for Canada  Labour Code
  • Allie – messaging should be Employee Rights first to engage bc we have a prob getting to them
  • Myriam – pull  quote from the article about Employee Rights
  • Action Item:  Lara  to reach out to John  Fraser about a  design draft to share with LEC for the March 13th meeting
  • Meet with Sheena and Chrystin Edwards about roll out on five cards and roll out plans

Update on new/current Collective Agreement 

  • Kat says the translation is done of the new CA
  • Signing ceremony on Fri. Feb. 26th, 2025
  • Kat’s understanding is that once it is signed, it can be posted online and shared with our members at cmg.ca and on  IO
  • We  can order printed copies of the current CA
  • Myriam – members have asked where our LEC minutes can be found –  on our local site
  • Kat – minutes have not  be updated in a while

Arman  – TVO update

  • They seem to be doing ok, rebuilding their Location Unit Executive
  • Arman has made overtures for those who were laid off who might be interested in temping at CBC
  • TVO local feels they haven’t had  enough support from the NEC

Defend CBC Meeting update

  • Post-presentation Defend CBC debrief
  • Kat – if we want to make a statement about CBC during the election we need to coordinate it with the BEC. As elected officials of CMG we can do so, but we should give a heads up to our  manager about it. Not  to ask permission, but because those who work under JSP it could impact the stories that they cover.

LUNCH BREAK 

Ongoing buissness, continued.

STAFF REP AMA– Karren Hwang

  • Myriam – Question when  a member leaves for a continuous period of time on an approved  leave and then returns to  work. Working conditions are worse in terms of number of shifts and days of the week that  they are scheduled following the leave than before they went on leave.
  • Employee is a temp. CBC has the right to assign the number of shifts and hours.   But would need to know more info on member’s employment status  to know  if  there  might be other avenues that can be pursued by CMG on behalf of  the member.
  • Myriam – casual AP, verbally extended  her contract by a month.  Verbal is OK says Arman, they don’t have to re-issue a new contract.  The verbal still  counts but the member could reach out to the manager and ask for the info in writing.

1:35 motion to go in camera. Myriam moves,  Sheena seconds, passes unanimously

Back at  1:43  Myriam motion to return, Jag seconds, passes unanimously

  • Lara – Question about MAR for flu or Covid absence up to five days clarification. Karren – yes, medical note for 5 days with COVID, no MAR. But doesn’t have notes on flu. 
  • Kat to follow up with Matt to clarify a couple of points.
  • Lara – we’re seeing a lot of cases of flu across the country, if members don’t need an MAR for absence up to 5 days they need to know.

Mapping the floor

April 10th for that date-

  • Kat asks  if releases have been submitted – Sheena yes,  Arman to submit, Jag to submit
  • Kat – update from LJC meeting on Feb. 10th – H & R will provide a list/map with departments in the building and general location, along with number of CMG members

Next Stewards training

  • On March 20th – about 12  people have signed up with many in technical roles.
  • Action Item – connect  with Christyn Edwards at Kids about holding a session department position

Union film screening event

  • Location for the screening? 
  • Allie- go big on Comms to advertise, schedule  it after  work, and it’s about organizing – focus is the organizing the Amazon union
  • poss location – the Gould? – Jag says talk to Angela Moore, we  would  need  2  people
  • Kat – can we aim to get 100 members to the screening
  • date, connect  with Angela about costing, and finding line in our mobilization budget
  • Dave is in with  the popcorn machine
  • filmmaker come in for a Q &A? She’s local filmmaker.
  • Allie – inspiration of the Amazon union, an opportunity to  get  our own members thinking about that and the power that it can have
  • Lara – scheduling it on May 1st?
  • Sarah -was also wondering about that day but also asks if it would make the day too long with cookies?
  • Kat – could we stagger the shifts for us to have fewer LEC members in for the morning shift with the cookies?
  • Myriam – can we  get the film subtitled in French?
  • Jag – we can ask them for a version with French subtitles
  • Myriam – what about those who are  hearing impaired or are visually impaired?
  • Check into descriptive video
  • Lara – Conference Centre as a back-up?  Or would it be cost prohibitive?

Committees or Sub-committeess

  • Kat has the Comms ready to go out about  the  committees
  • asks if we need more subcommittees?  No
  • changing  language  on some of the descriptions of subcommittees
  • LJC –  removing the requirement for one spot to be specifically from SRC bc there is a now a dedicated spot assigned to an SRC member on the regional committee
  • removing requirement from Health & Safety that members work five days a week. Naomi Robinson suggested asking Jag & Dave if it would be an issue to strike that & they do not.
  • Kat will send the call out to Jennifer on Friday  (tomorrow) to go out on Tues. Feb. 18th to members
  • goes  through  the different committees on time commitments for each  committee

    LJC
  • about  one  to five  hours  a month  in preparation, research & investigation ahead  of  monthly meeting
  • local health and safety -meets monthly and monthly inspections divided up among 5 members
  • meeting  – one  release day per month, with  some prepareLocal Temp Committee
  • meetings are quarterly, a lot of prep involved, meeting  with temps and any issues they need to address at the meeting.
  • Committee  members are  temp issue experts and a lot of knowledge among membersLocal Grievance Committee 
  • Brett Cousland Co-chair of the committee
  • one of the most popular committees  that members apply for
  • often pre-meeting is 4  hours before meeting discussing strategy
  • have to be able  to keep things confidential
  • people who are  strong, good knowledge of how things work in the building co-chair plus 3  members and two alternatesElections committee
  • run all the local elections
  • two members
  • cannot hold a position or have intention to runLocal PDD
  • supposed to ensure PDD compliance

March Event

  • Kat – We Have Your Back Event?
  • Myriam – International Women’s Day March 8th
    –coffee & donuts
    –Panel  of women & their careers, the Collective Agreement
    –Francophonie Month
    –event for International Women’s Day on Thurs March 6th
    –coffee & doughnuts
    –Sarah – ordering OFL posters & pins (25)

JSP


Put guidance out to  members  updates how they can include exploding maple leaf on bulletin boards but with  no specific person’s name attached to it

Motion #1 to be taken to the BEC:

The Toronto LEC feels strongly that due to the existential threat facing CBC/SRC’s future that

members  should be able to clearly express pride in the institution that is the CBC/SRC. This isn’t just about our jobs, it’s about our belief in a crucial public service. We need to make members aware  of the risks but still support them in taking these  non-political collective actions. For  example changing their profile picture to the CBC Gem or wearing a T-shirt with CBC branding that states Made in Canada. We want to make sure if  members choose to partake in these kinds of collective actions that CMG defends them fiercely.

Motion Sheena moves,   Allie Seconds

Motion passes unanimously

Motion #2 to be taken to the BEC:

The Toronto location unit being the location with the  largest number of members, while happy that the NEC has initiated a campaign to defend local journalism in Canada, would like to offer some feedback. How do we save the CBC/SRC  if we don’t use the term CBC/SRC?   It feels like  our union is letting politicians dictate the boundaries of discourse around a vital institution for all Canadians. It’s also imperative that the campaign reflects the diversity of Canada and the audiences that we serve.  Our members who are part of the Working Group have contributed significant amounts of research on public interest journalism and we want to ensure that it is reflected in the campaign. The campaign is titled Local Matters. We are asking if there is room to include words like news or journalism to reflect the purpose of the campaign. There is concern that Local Matters might be conflated with Buy Local or Buy Canadian. 

Motion Allie moves,  Seconded by Sheena

Motion passes unanimously

Back to March 6th, International Women’s Day Event

  • 9am to 12pm ET
  • Allie, Sarah, Kat, Lara, Miryam
  • Sarah has ordered pins & posters – Sarah to see if OFL can deliver by March 6th
  • need someone to design a poster for the event, someone to pick up the grounds, dairy and non-dairy, brew the coffee
  • someone to pick up timbits day of, get permission from management for a table in the atrium by Front St. security
  • need to arrange to get the posters put up
  • we need a list of jobs for the day
  • Set-up 8am
  • Kat, Lara, 8am to 10am ET
  • Sheena in the AM until 10:30 am
  • 8am to 11am Myriam
  • Sarah – released for the full day
  • Allie – 11 am to close
  • Kat will draft a to do list and reach out to IR for permission to hold the event in the atrium

Reports:

Kat – 

  • Most  LEC members feel that we have  covered issues from  reports over the course of the day
  • People asking about benefits – why can’t they get psychologist covered? CCSB – understanding that there may be some news coming in the next 2 to 3 months about mental health coverage
  • Elke Semerad putting together a document about the SAF, how and when people can access it.

Myriam –

  • EID celebration at the end of March

Arman  –

  • members on the verge  of conversion

Sarah  –

  • moving finances over to  Meridien shortly

Sheena –

Swag for mapping the floor and hosting Stewards social on April 11th – will add  to calendar

Allie –

covered  it over the day

Dave –

connection with Naomi Robinson with contact for Women’s Hockey for Defend CBC

Lara –

covered over the course of the day

Motion to adjourn: Jag moves Arman Seconds. Passes unanimously