Says five federal parties agree a thriving media is important
TORONTO – The Canadian Media Guild (CMG), a trade union representing over 5,000 members, today published the answers to five election questions it asked five federal political parties.
Four of the five parties – the Liberals, NDP, Green Party and Bloc Québécois – “support a strong and stable media, with increased funding for the national public broadcaster,” a CMG press release reads.
“A vague response by one national party however raises concerns about the future of CBC/Radio-Canada, and the nationwide services it currently provides.”
CMG is referring to the Conservatives. The party did not answer CMG’s questions directly, but did provide the portion of its platform that “describes breaking up the CBC, with decreased support for some areas and increased support for others,” says the press release. “In essence, the Conservatives’ proposals amount to cutting English language television while focusing support on French language services, especially in Québec.”
All five parties did agree on “the importance of a thriving, independent, diverse media and acknowledged the global crisis threatening the industry due to the dominance of international giants such as Google and Facebook,” according to the press release.
“Everyone admits that tech giants are taking most advertising revenue out of the country and profiting from the news produced by others that they do not pay for,” said CMG national president Carmel Smyth. “It’s way past time to take real action.”
CMG represents employees from media organizations including CBC/Radio-Canada, The Canadian Press and Pagemasters North America, Thomson Reuters, the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN), TVO, TFO, VICE, Zoomer Media, AFP, CKOF, and freelance media workers.
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