OTTAWA – Four Canadian unions protested on Monday outside the CRTC public hearings, calling on the regulator to deny CanWest Global’s acquisition of Alliance Atlantis because it’s backed by U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs. About 50 people showed up for the demonstration on the opening day of the hearings at which CanWest executives, including president and CEO Leonard Asper, are facing questioning by CRTC commissioners.
The Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP), Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA), CWA-Canada and Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), all unions that represent workers in Canada’s media, claim that CanWest is bringing in foreign ownership of the country’s media “through the back door.”
“CanWest has been gutting newsrooms across the country, feeding its unfettered desire for acquisitions, and now it is putting the critical issue of Canadian ownership of our media on the table,” said Peter Murdoch, CEP vice-president of media. “The result is loss of jobs, loss of local programming, loss of Canadian culture and identity.”
Allowing foreign ownership through a labyrinth of legal and investment mumbo jumbo won’t wash, the unions stated in a media release.
“ACTRA vigorously opposes this deal because it gives Americans effective control of two Canadian media companies. Adding insult to injury, CanWest is lowballing its contributions to Canadian dramatic programming and the industry,” said ACTRA national president Richard Hardacre.
ACTRA noted that as result of the complex deal, Goldman Sachs will end up with effective control of both CanWest and Alliance Atlantis.
“This deal effectively gives a U.S. company control over a Canadian broadcaster, which is a violation of the Broadcasting Act and Canadian public policy,” said Hardacre.
“Increased foreign control of broadcasting would damage our cultural sovereignty, deepen the crisis in Canadian drama and potentially jeopardize Canadian content rules,” he added.
The Directors Guild of Canada, CEP, ACTRA National and the Writers Guild of Canada are among the interveners scheduled to appear at the public hearing, likely on Tuesday.
