Toronto Star

CBC board and president should resign, unions say

- JACQUES GALLANT STAFF REPORTER

The two unions representi­ng the vast majority of CBC and RadioCanad­a employees across the country are calling for president and CEO Hubert Lacroix and the board of directors to step down, citing a lack of confidence in their leadership.

“Over the last eight years, CBC/Radio-Canada has been systematic­ally crippled, with unpreceden­ted programmin­g cuts across the country and questionab­le plans to sell off production assets and buildings, which threatens the public broadcaste­r’s ability to produce programmin­g in both official languages,” says a statement on the website of the Canadian Media Guild, which represents most CBC workers, as well as Radio-Canada employees outside Quebec and New Brunswick.

“Along with constant cuts to staff — more than 25 per cent of workers laid off in five years — this damage is the vision of this president and board.”

The unions say that while the incoming Liberal government has promised to reinvest in CBC/RadioCanad­a, top brass still intend to move forward with cuts.

“We concluded that they no longer have legitimacy,” Isabelle Montpetit, president of Syndicat des communicat­ions de Radio-Canada, told the Star. That union represents most of Radio-Canada’s employees in Quebec and New Brunswick.

The unions distribute­d a petition on Thursday among their members calling for the resignatio­n of Lacroix and the board members, all of whom were appointed under the outgoing Conservati­ve government. It accuses them of acting with haste in implementi­ng the Conservati­ves’ budget cuts, and an “inability” to defend public broadcasti­ng and production.

Lacroix, who was reappointe­d to a second five-year term in 2012, was not made available for an interview. Rémi Racine, chair of the12-member board, did not return a request for comment.

CBC spokeswoma­n Alexandra Fortier said Lacroix “is encouraged by the incoming government’s expressed support for public broadcasti­ng and their commitment to reinvest in CBC/Radio-Canada. He looks forward to working with them, our unions and our employees to ensure Canadians get the best in public broadcasti­ng.”

Prime minister-designate Justin Trudeau said that a Liberal government would invest an extra $150 million in annual funding to the public broadcaste­r.

 ??  ?? Unions distribute­d a petition calling for CBC CEO Hubert Lacroix to resign.
Unions distribute­d a petition calling for CBC CEO Hubert Lacroix to resign.

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