OTTAWA – With its recent round of layoffs and programming cutbacks, CHUM Ltd. is offside when it comes to its conditions of license at its local stations, says one of the unions representing its employees.
"(T)he CRTC should call an inquiry into the issue and require that the broadcaster fulfill its licence obligations and commitments," says a release from the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada.
The union has filed a complaint with the CRTC asking it to declare CHUM Limited in violation of its TV station licenses as a result of recent program cancellations at various stations across the country, as reported by Cartt.ca in July.
The union is reacting to the layoff of 281 employees and the shuttering of several local shows across the country, a move that was made the same day Bell Globemedia made public a $1.7 billion purchase offer for CHUM. CHUM CEO Jay Switzer told Cartt.ca that the cuts were coming anyway, regardless of the purchase.
"The dramatic reductions in local programming run counter to explicit commitments made by CHUM to the CRTC. The cuts also have the effect of reducing local content to such a level that at some locations, CHUM is no longer in compliance with its conditions of license," says the CEP complaint.
The stations most affected, as identified by the union, include A-Channel Ottawa; A-Channel Victoria; Citytv Calgary; Citytv Edmonton; Citytv Vancouver; and, Citytv Winnipeg.
"CHUM’s contention that these cuts were unrelated to the sale and were due solely to poor ratings is a marvelous coincidence for the bottom line, and particularly the buyer," said Peter Murdoch, CEP media vice-president. "But at any rate, poor ratings do not permit a broadcaster to abandon its conditions of licence.
"Our concerns are two fold," he continued. "The impact on our members at these stations has been enormously adverse and we obviously want to mitigate those effects. But we also want to ensure that the commitments broadcasters make in acquiring licences have meaning."
The union’s release was not just about the local stations, however, and concentrated on the BGM purchase bid, too, which it has already complained about and has asked the CRTC to step in and stop.
"License conditions and legislation under the Broadcast Act are there to ensure that public interest is an integral part of media accountability. The purchase of a national network isn’t an episode of banal reality television – this has an effect on the fabric of the country," Murdoch added.
"We expect the CRTC to call an inquiry into our complaint immediately. Canadians want an opportunity to voice their concerns to our regulatory agency."
