CALGARY – Add Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi to the growing list of Canadians opposed to more staff cuts at the CBC.
In an April 1st letter addressed to CBC president and CEO Hubert Lacroix, with copies to CBC/Radio-Canada board of directors chair Rémi Racine, Heritage Minister Shelly Glover, Industry Minister James Moore, and Calgary Members of Parliament, Mayor Nenshi said that he was “confused” by the decision to cut nearly 25% of staff at CBC Calgary.
“It is my understanding that a loss of 20 positions in Calgary would put its staff size on par with that of CBC Newfoundland and Labrador”, reads the letter. “For a news station serving a population of roughly 2 million people to have as many staff as a station serving less than 600,000 people does not make sense to me.”
Recognizing the national broadcaster’s “incredibly difficult financial situation”, Mayor Nenshi implored Lacroix to “reconsider redistributing the cuts evenly across Canada rather than targeting one area of the country.”
“As the public broadcaster, CBC/Radio-Canada should deliver content that reflects Canada and its regions”, the letter continues. “These cuts are a breach of CBC’s mandate and will very seriously limit the ability of CBC Calgary to tell the stories of Albertans, which it has done so well for so many years. I strongly believe that CBC Calgary losing one-quarter of its staff, including several journalists, will impact CBC/Radio-Canada’s ability to accurately and equitably tell Canada’s story.”
