Job cuts just nine in B. C.
Local shows will be unaffected, no stations will close
The massive job cuts announced at CBC Thursday are largely back east — only five unionized employees and four managers will lose their jobs in British Columbia, out of 657 job cuts across Canada.
The CBC’s senior managing director for B. C. and Alberta, Johnny Michel, said no local shows will be cut in B. C., and no stations will be closed. He expects the five unionized job cuts to be in live music recording, which was cut by $ 1.2 million nationally, and in web design, which is being centralized in Toronto.
“The audience is not going to notice anything,” Michel said.
“Our programs are still going to be on at the same time. There are no program cancellations.”
But Carmel Smyth of the Canadian Media Guild predicted the national cuts will be quite noticeable to the audience.
“People are severely overworked,” she said. “Every media organization has had nothing but cuts in the last five years. People are going to notice the cuts. There’s no way we’re not going to notice anymore.
“It’s soul- destroying to have this all the time. Creative politicians should be coming up with solutions to fund the public broadcaster, not just cut it into ineffectiveness.”
CBC Vancouver archivist Colin Preston said the relatively small job loss in B. C. could be because previous cuts have already decimated the local CBC.
“When I got hired they were cutting — ’ 84 is when they started,” said Preston, who is also a union representative.
“We’re celebrating 30 years of progressive shrinkage. We ( used to do) regional dramas, don’t do that. Network dramas, don’t do that. Current affairs, don’t do that. On and on it goes.”
There are 171 full- time employees excluding managers at the CBC in British Columbia, 137 of whom work in Vancouver.
Michel said there are also about 60 to 100 part- time contract employees at any one time.
There were 25 job cuts to the CBC in B. C. and Alberta, which operates as one region. The CBC will combine the weekend TV and radio newscasts in Calgary and Edmonton, which will result in five job cuts in Calgary and three in Edmonton.
Eight more jobs in B. C. and Alberta are vacant and won’t be filled. There will be no buyouts in the downsizing.
The CBC said the cuts were because the national broadcaster is facing a $ 130- million shortfall from the loss of NHL hockey rights and low ad revenues.
Of the 657 jobs to be cut, 334 are in English language services, 323 are in French. Two hundred and thirtyfour of the English cuts are to the national network in Toronto; 100 are to regional CBC.
The size of the national cuts shook the media world Thursday.
“It’s a really sad thing that’s happening as it’s being downsized,” said Chris Haddock, who produced two of CBC’s most popular TV series, Da Vinci’s Inquest and Intelligence.
“It’s such an important piece of our media landscape, and a place where so many Canadians get their start, are trained and go out into the rest of the world.
“That’s one of the most tragic things. It’s provided such access to so many different tradespeople and creative people and journalists over the years. I’m sure they’ll all be impacted somehow.”